After the incident with the ignition of the power bank on the plane, there was talk about tough measures. However, Rosaviatsiya stated that there are currently no grounds for a complete ban on external batteries on board.
Izvestia, citing the Ural Interregional Territorial Administration of Air Transport of Rosaviatsiya, previously reported that the agency had proposed to the Ministry of Transport to limit or even completely ban the use of power banks in flight. The reason was the investigation of a fire on board an Ural Airlines plane in February 2026.
The incident occurred on February 22: on the Yekaterinburg — Istanbul flight operated by Airbus A320, a power bank caught fire after takeoff. The owner suffered a minor burn to his thumb.
Flight attendants responded quickly: they used a fire extinguisher, placed the device in a metal container with water and removed it to a safe place. The plane continued its flight and landed safely in Istanbul.
Later, information appeared that following the results of the investigation, Rosaviatsiya recommended that the Ministry of Transport consider changes to the legislation that could limit the use of power banks on airplanes.
Rosaviatsiya itself clarified that the opinion of the Ural MTU commission is advisory in nature. At the same time, restrictions already exist — they are regulated by international and domestic transportation rules.
Thus, since January 1, the International Air Transport Association has restricted the carriage of power banks and equipment with lithium-ion batteries: they can only be taken in hand luggage. In addition, the use of power banks is prohibited during taxiing, takeoff and landing.