Although AFAIK there wasn’t an incident with BA specifically, this has come about from changes to ICAO dangerous goods regulations - as there’s been a spate of power bank fires (particularly in Asia), even resulting in a complete write off of an A321 in South Korea (though thankfully only minor injuries occurred).
Originally Posted by
Bohinjska Bistrica
BA's guidance says they must be stowed in the seat pocket or in a bag under the seat.
Nothing about not using them in flight to charge a portable device in the BA guidance, although the CAA guidance does say this.
The CAA guidance says that it “
should not be used to charge PEDs…” which means that is left to the discretion of the operator based on their risk assessments.
Whereas it says “
Must not be charged onboard” (the power bank itself) as that’s what the regulation specifies.