Flight passengers are being warned not to pack power banks or vapes in their luggage ahead of the busy summer holiday travel period that begins in some parts of the UK.
The fire risk posed by lithium batteries is now the number one safety risk for aircraft, according to the aviation regulator, as the number of devices found in hold bags has almost doubled in a year.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says the average person now takes four different lithium-powered devices on a flight.
Ahead of the school summer holidays first starting in Scotland this week, people are being reminded to take devices with them to cabins.
Batteries can store large amounts of energy in a small space, and are now commonly used in many electrical items including laptops, vapes, power banks, mobile phones and smart watches.
They are incredibly useful and versatile. But if batteries overheat or fail, they can cause fires that spread quickly and are difficult to control.
In 2024, 316 incidents of devices containing lithium batteries being found in hold bags were reported to UK authorities. This will increase to 643 in 2025.
Reports of devices overheating or malfunctioning also nearly doubled in the same year, from 123 to 206.
Most of these problems occurred in the cabin where the crew could deal with the situation, but the concern is that if it happens in the hold, the problem may not be detected until it is too late to control it.