(NEXSTAR) – Starting later this month, Southwest Airlines will be enforcing a new policy for passengers who use motorized wheelchairs.

Beginning on Sept. 25, passengers with battery-powered wheelchairs or scooters will be required to remove the lithium batteries from their mobility devices prior to boarding and carry them onto the plane separately. Batteries over 300 watt hours (Wh) will also be banned, but those with larger batteries will have until Jan. 11 to comply with that part of the requirement.

Dave Hunt, the vice president of safety and security at Southwest, said the new policy was adopted to “enhance safety” for passengers and crew.

“Lithium batteries have become one of the most common sources of smoke and fire incidents on aircraft,” Hunt told employees last week, in a messa

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