Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways has banned its pilots and cabin crew from carrying power banks on board flights while on duty amid safety concerns, the South China Morning Post has learned, in a move aircrew decried as causing them significant inconvenience and a "double standard" compared with restrictions for passengers.
In a notice to cabin crew last Thursday, a copy of which was seen by the South China Morning Post, the carrier said that "operating crew are prohibited from carrying power banks with them on duty", effective on Monday.
The carrier added that the move was "to enhance safety" and applied to both flight crew and cabin crew.
"We don't understand why there is a double standard on us when passengers are allowed to bring their power banks on board but the aircrew are forbidden from doing so," Brenda Cheng, vice-chairwoman of the carrier's Flight Attendants Union, said on Monday.
"We are now in discussion with the company and hope that it can clarify this policy."
The airline's notice to crew also announced the implementation of the Civil Aviation Department's new rule, which also came into effect on Monday, that passengers could not use power banks, or recharge them, or store them in overhead compartments during flights.
Under the new regulations, passengers would have to keep power banks on them, or place them in the seat pocket in front of them, or in their hand luggage under the seat. Fliers would be allowed to charge electronic devices using USB ports built into seats, where available.
Before and after boarding, passengers would be reminded to take out their lithium battery power banks and refrain from using or charging them, or storing them in the overhead compartments, the airline said.
As the new rules came into effect on Monday, some Cathay passengers at Hong Kong International Airport expressed frustration at the regulations.
"If you bring it on board but can't use it, it's really pointless," Raymond Yeung, who had booked a flight to Shanghai, said.
"It's the same as not putting it in the overhead compartment and just holding it - it's still on the plane."
He said power banks should either be banned altogether, or airlines should take steps to ensure the products had met certain safety requirements and allow them to be used on flights.
Yeung, who had checked-in online and did not speak to counter staff, added he only learned of the new regulations from previous news reports, and did not notice further reminders from the airline.
IT worker Dickson Chan, who was flying to Kuala Lumpur, described the new rules as "superfluous".
"Assuming it's a long-haul flight, I think this is unreasonable … short-haul flights are OK," he said.
Asked about previous on-board accidents related to power banks, Chan said: "These things didn't just start happening today, and safety measures exist. The current revisions just seem unnecessary."
But other passengers, such as Liane Hui Yuk-lan, who was heading home to San Francisco, felt the new rules were reasonable.
She said most flights had USB ports for charging phones, and understood power banks could not be placed in overhead bins because it would be harder to spot a fire that ignited there.
"Safety should always be the first priority - whether it is convenient or not is up to people to feel and decide … but safety first," she said.
But Hui added airlines should communicate such regulations and the reasoning behind them more clearly so that there would be better acceptance.
"At the end of the day, we all just want to be safe and sound, and have a happy trip without any worries."
While passengers were allowed to bring power banks onto planes if they adhered to the rules, aircrew were not and had to bring adaptor plugs instead to charge their devices, according to the company's notice.
Flight Attendants Union leader Cheng said the ban on operating crew would cause aircrew great inconvenience during their layovers at overseas outports, and urged Cathay to find ways to meet crew members' phone-charging needs.
She added the union was not aware of any other airline in Hong Kong that had placed such restrictions on operating crew.
Cheng said aircrew understood the safety reasons but nonetheless needed to be able to use power banks to recharge their phones once they got off the flight, especially in the event of an accident such as earthquakes or power outages.
"We need our power banks to keep our devices like mobile phones to remain functional for communication otherwise we will be unable to perform our duties effectively as we can't keep tabs on matters related to our job."
She called for Cathay to consider other solutions such as allowing aircrew to keep their power banks in a box and storing them safely on the plane.
In a letter to the company, the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association also said the ban was "unnecessary" and called for the carrier to keep the restrictions in line with those for passengers.
"The justification regarding 'risk mitigation' is sound, however, the 'leading by example' is not consistent in our opinion," the association said.
"If a complete prohibition is in fact maintaining the highest safety standards, then it would seem logical that this position would be reflected in the policy regarding carriage by passengers."
The association also highlighted that aircrew were equipped with training and knowledge about battery fire risks and firefighting strategies, so they had a lower risk profile than that of passengers, who had less awareness of the risks involved.
