Starting in March, new rules will severely restrict the number of backup batteries that passengers can bring with them on planes and will prohibit onboard charging.

The transport ministry announced on Thursday that a new safety management standard for lithium backup batteries and vaping devices on board planes will go into effect March 1. 

Under the new standard, passengers can bring aboard up to five lithium batteries with a capacity under 100 Watt-hours instead of the current 20. 

Passengers will still be allowed to carry up to two backup batteries with a capacity of between 100 and 160 Watt-hours, as they are now, and batteries exceeding 160 Watt-hours are still not allowed on board.

The move comes after a fire aboard Air Busan forced the evacuation of 176 passengers on January 28 at Gimhae International Airport in Busan. 

Although investigators have yet to confirm that a backup battery caused the fire, the incident prompted the government to consider preemptive steps.