After the coronavirus pandemic ends...Increase in battery fire incidents on airplanes = South Korea

In South Korea, there has been an increase in incidents of smartphone batteries catching fire on airplanes. Domestic and international air travel demand, which had been shrinking due to the COVID-19 virus infection, has increased since last year.
According to documents obtained by Lee Yong-hee, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the number of related accidents, which had subsided during the COVID-19 period, has increased as a result of the return to the previous state of affairs.
A total of 13 in-flight battery fires have occurred since 2020. The number of in-flight battery fires was 13 in 2020 (2 cases), 2021 (0 cases), and 2022 (0 cases) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
There were six battery accidents last year, and five so far this year (as of August). There has also been an increase in cases where batteries are not found in passengers' checked baggage.
If the batteries are in checked baggage, there is an increased risk of fire and explosion due to physical impact or temperature changes.
A Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport official said, "The auxiliary batteries that have been sold recently are
"Because they are thinner and smaller than previous models, there are an increasing number of cases where they get caught in the gap between seats and the pressure causes fires," he said.