Portable Battery Chargers Cause 42% Rise in Plane Thermal Runaway Incidents | Aviation International News

Li-ion Thermal Runaways on the Rise in Aircraft Cabins

Numbers are rising and the risk of a serious incident is increasing

Fire containment bag — © UL Standards & Engagement

By Matt Thurber • Editor-in-Chief

August 13, 2026

Lithium-ion battery thermal runaway incidents on passenger flights rose 15% from 2024 to 2025, according to the UL Standards & Engagement (ULSE) Lithium-ion Battery Incidents in Aviation: 2025 Data Review. Portable charger incidents rose 42%, making them the leading culprit ahead of e-cigarettes, with cell phones the third most common device involved in thermal runaways.

ULSE gathers information from its leading voluntary Thermal Runaway Incident Program (TRIP), which includes more than 40 passenger and cargo airlines submitting information to the TRIP database. According to ULSE, the rate of weekly incidents has reached 2.36, up from 2.05 in 2024. The cost to the industry now averages $1.8 million a year, or $96,000 per incident, “in damage, disruption, and associated losses.”

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