Starting June 28, passengers on Chinese domestic flights face stricter power bank regulations.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China now bans power banks without valid 3C certification (China's mandatory safety standard) or those recalled for safety defects—a move triggered by rising incidents of lithium-ion battery fires and smoke emissions mid-flight.

The policy has already led to confiscated power banks piling up at airports, leaving passengers to board without them. Even though airports offer storage options, many still question the abrupt nature of the regulation. While the emphasis on safety-first standards is widely supported, critics question the implementation process and argue that the cost of industry compliance shouldn't fall entirely on consumers.

Qu Jing (Jimu News): While some brands have initiated recalls of faulty power banks, many courier services refuse to ship them, preventing consumers from returning the items. Worse still, self-disposal is both complicated and potentially hazardous. At airports,

numerous non-compliant power banks are being seized. Due to logistical hurdles in shipping, passengers are forced to abandon them at security, forfeiting any chance of redress or refund.

Power banks purchased before August 2024, when the mandatory 3C certification was introduced, even with no inherent defects, are now prohibited from air travel. With most brands failing to offer trade-in or compensation programs, consumers have been forced to rush out and buy new ones just to travel. Thus, the industry's regulatory burden has been unfairly shifted onto consumers. Quality compliance, which should be the responsibility of businesses, is ultimately transferred to everyday users.

Some companies are even treating the new regulations as an opportunity for profit growth while ignoring the replacement demands of existing customers. Safety standards are fundamental to business survival, not an excuse to pressure consumers into buying new products.

Gao Lu (Tidenews.com.cn): The confiscated power banks belong to the passengers, not the airports. This is indisputable. This does not mean a relinquishment of ownership or their consent to transfer the disposal rights to the airports. So if an airport needs to dispose of these power banks, it must first obtain the consent of the actual owners.

Public supervision on how these power banks are dealt with is essentially a form of oversight over the legality of the disposal procedures. In a society based on the rule of law, airport operations must be able to withstand legal scrutiny.

The challenge lies in balancing security protocols with passenger convenience. The prohibition of non-3C power banks on flights due to safety concerns is a reasonable requirement. Then what's the best way to deal with all these confiscated power banks? They don't meet the boarding criteria, but are not necessarily defective. Destroying them—many of them still perfectly functional or even brand new—is a huge waste of social resources. Can airports, for instance, offer on-site shipping services or secure storage options?

The recent power bank disputes have revealed that outdated and inflexible management approaches are falling short of public expectation. Public services require a more nuanced and thoughtful approach. Only by focusing on providing truly people-centric services can we level the path for policy implementation and secure public support. BR

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon

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