Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways will keep its ban on pilots and cabin crew carrying power banks on flights, but has acknowledged the inconvenience and pledged to provide them with the devices at overseas layovers.
The airline on Thursday told staff that on average more than one on-board incident involving the batteries occurred every week across the world.
"With this background in mind, we studied the option of allowing our operating crew to store their power banks in other closed compartments, for example, the cloakrooms," Vincent Yu, the airline's general manager of in-flight service delivery, said in an internal memo.
"However, given our in-flight duties, storing a power bank that cannot be monitored is a risk because it cannot be detected before it compromises safety."
A copy of the memo was seen by the South China Morning Post.
Cathay Pacific's ban on the devices for operating crew came into effect on Monday, coinciding with the implementation of a separate rule from the Civil Aviation Department which bars passengers on local carriers from using power banks, recharging them or storing them in overhead compartments during flights.
The use of power banks has been in the spotlight in recent months amid safety concerns.
In January, a fire tore through a Hong Kong-bound Air Busan aircraft, reducing half of the fuselage to wreckage before the plane was set to take off. The blaze was believed to have been started by a passenger's portable power bank that was "compressed inside the overhead bin", according to local media.
The Cathay Pacific Airways Flight Attendants Union and the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association earlier slammed Cathay's crew-specific policy as inconvenient and questioned its necessity.
Yu said the company had looked into different options, such as allowing staff to carry power banks in their uniform pockets or storing multiple batteries in the same location, but none was found to be feasible.
The size and shape of power banks made carrying them in a pocket impractical, while also posing an injury risk if the devices overheated, he said.
Yu added that centralising the storage of multiple devices on a plane could significantly increase the intensity of a fire if one of them suffered a "thermal runaway".
The term refers to a rapid uncontrolled release of heat energy, which can occur in lithium-ion batteries that have been damaged or have quality issues, potentially leading to fires.
"After looking at a wide range of possible options, at present the only feasible way to comply with these regulations and prioritise everyone's safety is to ask that crew no longer bring these devices with them when operating flights," Yu said.
Crew members would be able to use power banks before departure at Cathay City, the company's main offices near Hong Kong International Airport, from Tuesday.
"We are already in discussions with different hotels at outports to provide power banks for Cathay operating crew during your layovers. We will share details with you in due course," Yu noted.
He said that colleagues at outports in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand would begin providing power banks to operating crew by April 30 as an interim measure on a progressive basis to minimise inconvenience.
Yu emphasised the carrier's regret over the challenges faced under the ban and assured staff of its commitment to safety-focused solutions, including ongoing engagement with the Civil Aviation Department and an internal review of safe on-board storage options.