Low-cost South Korean airline Air Busan is banning passengers from placing portable battery packs in overhead lockers after one of its Airbus A321 jets was engulfed in flames and gutted during an incident at Busan’s Gimhae International Airport last week.
176 people and six crew members were forced to flee the firey wreckage via emergency slides after smoke started to pour out of an overhead bin as the plane was preparing for departure to Hong Kong on January 28.
Three passengers sustained minor injuries during the evacuation, while four crew members had to be treated for smoke inhalation as the fire quickly spread throughout the cabin of flight BX391.
Accident investigators are yet to establish what exactly caused the fire, although there is suspicion that a portable battery pack or laptop computer in one of the passenger’s cabin bags overheated in a so-called ‘thermal runaway’ event.
On Wednesday, Air Busan told passengers that portable battery packs can no longer be placed in cabin baggage in the overhead lockers and must instead be in the possession of the passenger throughout the flight.
Although the airline did not give any reason for the new safety instruction, it is presumably so that passengers can quickly spot whether their battery pack is overheating before it starts a fire.
In recent years, there has been a worrying increase in the number of onboard fires and smoke events caused by portable battery packs and other items containing a lithium battery overheating.
Due to the extreme heat created by a lithium battery ‘thermal runaway,’ it can be very difficult to extinguish the fire. One of the most effective ways to fight this type of fire is to completely submerge the device in water.
In order to enforce its new policy, Air Busan plans to search passenger bags at the gate and place special tags on them after it has been confirmed that no portable battery packs are inside.
Passengers are being warned not to place any devices with lithium batteries in their checked luggage as a ‘thermal runaway’ event would be even harder to deal with and could result in a catastrophic situation.
Along with portable battery packs and laptop computers, other common devices that contain lithium batteries include mobile phones, tablets, and vapes. In 2023, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recommended that passengers avoid charging devices above 30% to reduce the risk of a thermal runaway event.
Several years ago, the leader of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) said she would support a total ban on vaping devices from being brought onboard planes over the risk of a thermal runaway event.
Today, however, it remains to be seen how much a vape device ban would reduce the risk of a lithium battery incident. Recent research suggests that 99% of US air travelers carried at least one personal electronic item with them on their last flight.
Lockets?
Well spotted!