Over 400,000 violations of airplane portable battery rules in South Korea

Since a 2025 battery-related fire onboard an Air Busan flight led to strengthened safety measures, more than 430,000 violations of carry-on battery rules were recorded at domestic airports in South Korea over the past year.



According to figures submitted to Representative Lee Yeon-hee of the National Assembly’s Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee by Incheon International Airport Corp and Korea Airports Corp, 433,051 violations were detected at airport security checkpoints from March 2025, when the updated safety standards took effect, through the end of February 2026.



As eight in 10 violations involved attempts to place batteries in checked baggage, which poses a higher fire risk due to early detection and suppression in cargo holds being more difficult, authorities are calling for reinforcement of passenger awareness.