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“Beware anyone being so foolish to fly Easyjet,” the acclaimed British podcaster and author Pandora Sykes tweeted over the weekend. “Captain just refused to let us board our flights because our checked-in suitcases have USB ports (aka “smart bags”). Easyjet quietly changed their Ts&Cs a few weeks ago without telling their customers.”

The tweet was met by a flurry of responses, some sympathetic others confused.

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“Did you remove the battery?” one person replied.

“I know someone who was physically offloaded along with her bag on BA,” said another. “The bag was checked in okay but she hadn’t removed the battery part (is that even possible?).”

Beware anyone being so foolish to fly Easyjet – captain just refused to let us board our flights because our checked-in suitcases have USB ports (aka “smart bags”). Easyjet quietly changed their Ts&Cs a few weeks ago without telling their customers

— Pandora Sykes (@PINsykes) August 13, 2022

In response, Sykes claimed she hadn’t realised easyJet “had changed their conditions”, adding: “We’ve flown lots with these bags before… It just would have been decent to have a reminder at check in on the screen, or even get called before we get to the gate so we can remove it and still catch our flight!”

An easyJet spokesperson today denied the airline has changed its conditions, however. “For safety reasons and in line with CAA guidance, we require items containing lithium batteries such as smart bags to be disconnected before we can accept them onboard,” the spokesperson said. “As Ms Skyes wasn’t able to do so, we unfortunately couldn’t accept the bag onboard or in the hold and she was unable to travel on this occasion.”

Related: EasyJet pilots in Spain are planning nine days of strike action in August

It’s unclear how the captain knew about the suitcase having an internal battery if the passenger was not asked about this at check-in.

One possibility is that an airside baggage handler noticed the USB on Sykes’ luggage as they loaded it onto the plane and notified the captain, who made the last-minute decision to remove the bags. We have reached out to Sykes for clarity.

Smart luggage is fast becoming a must-have travel accessory to the modern discerning traveller.

According to easyJet, smart luggage “is a bag that contains a lithium battery or power bank which is used to power itself or to recharge other devices”.

Related: Why Heathrow passengers wasted 4 years waiting at security in July and how to solve the problem

In fact, some smart bags can do a lot more than that. As luggage technology improves, manufacturers like Away, G-Ro, and Arlo Skye now offer such features as device charging ports, wifi, Bluetooth, electronic locks, and in-built GPS tracking systems. Some can even measure their own weight.

The trouble is, airlines don’t allow them on flights unless they can be properly disconnected.

The point of issue is the lithium battery that powers a smart bag. In fact, following a spate of in-flight fires, air-travel watchdog IATA classified them as “dangerous goods” that can pose a safety risk “if not prepared in accordance with the transport regulations” in 2018.

The batteries – specifically Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries which power larger electronic devices – have been deemed so risky on flights that the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) was forced to issue guidance to airlines on their dangers.

“Lithium batteries are very safe, but because of their high energy, if they are not treated with care or if they are abused or have a manufacturing fault, they can catch fire,” it says. “Batteries have been the cause of a number of fires on board aircraft and during ground handling.”

Relted: Don’t check your bag until you read this — 7 tips to help keep an airline from losing your luggage

One such incident occurred in February 2020 when a British Airways flight from London Gatwick to Tampa, Florida, was forced to make an emergency landing in Bermuda after a passenger’s mobile phone caught fire mid-flight.

BA said that, as the Boeing 777 flew over the Atlantic, the phone fell down the back of its owner’s seat. In trying to retrieve the phone, reported FOX News, the passenger accidentally broke the lithium battery inside. Wedged down the back of a reclining seat, it began to overheat. Soon, it caught fire.

The flames were quickly put out by quick-thinking cabin crew, but the incident sent a stark warning to airlines about the potential dangers of lithium batteries on flights.

When we asked the CAA exactly why lithium batteries can explode, a spokesperson told us that “poorly manufactured, faulty and misused lithium batteries can experience something called ‘thermal runaway’.”

“This results in them getting so hot that they can catch fire, explode and ignite other nearby batteries,” the spokesperson added. “If that were to happen in an aircraft, particularly on the flight deck, it could significantly disrupt the operation of the aircraft and cause serious injury to passengers and crew.”

Related: How aircraft transport dangerous goods

The spokesperson said that controlled portable electronic devices (C-PEDs) used by flight crew and cabin crew “are subject to certain safety design and operational standards to prevent this happening”.

For this reason, they said, any device with a lithium battery must be disconnected and kept in hand luggage so, if it were to catch fire, it would be quicker to identify and extinguish.

“Spare batteries (including power banks) carried by passengers must be in hand luggage and not checked baggage in the aircraft hold,” the CAA spokesperson added.

As a general rule, any suitcase or device with a lithium battery must be fully disconnected before boarding the flight. Here’s what the major British airlines have to say on the matter.

BA is clear about the use of smart luggage on flights.

“If the lithium battery/power bank cannot be readily removed from Smart Baggage by the customer, the Smart Bag will not be accepted on the flight,” says the airline.

But it adds that, if you can easily remove the lithium battery/power bank, the Smart Bag is permitted for carriage, subject to the following conditions:

If the Wh rating of the Lithium battery / Power Bank is more than 160 Wh, or the Wh rating cannot be determined (e.g. not marked on the battery/Power Bank case) the lithium battery/power bank will not be accepted on the flight.

Ryanair keeps things a little simpler.

“You can take a ‘smart bag’ (a bag that contains a lithium battery and can charge items from the USB port) on the plane as your item of carry-on baggage,” it says. “However, you must remove the lithium battery before you put the bag in the overhead locker. The battery must stay with you at all times.”

Tui’s policy on smart bags is rather more opaque.

On the “luggage restrictions” section on its website, the airline makes no mention of smart cases at all.

It does, however, mention lithium batteries: “Small vehicles powered by Lithium Batteries commonly known as Hoverboard, Segway, Balance Wheel, Solowheel and Airwheel are not allowed to be carried in either carry-on baggage or checked-in baggage.”

However, when we contacted Tui for clarity, a spokesperson confirmed: “We can accept smart bags as long as the battery is less than 100 WH and can be disconnected. The battery has to be removed.”

In the airline’s “Items that are never allowed onboard” list, it includes “smart bags”, adding: “unless the batteries can be removed”.

Featured image by Urbanandsport/NurPhoto/Getty Images

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