Two passengers suffered burns after a portable charger caught fire on a flight from Taipei, the Taiwanese capital, to Singapore.
Video of the incident, which took place on a lowcost airline Scoot flight on Tuesday, shows flames between two rows of seats.
The footage, which has been shared across multiple aviation blogs and viral video accounts on Twitter, shows panicked passengers screaming as the crew tries to control the fire. When the fire is finally out, the cabin is filled with smoke.
The airline said two passengers suffered “minor burns to their fingers” and had to return the plane to the airport terminal.
According to Scoot, the other passengers managed to disembark safely and the injured received first aid and did not require hospitalization.
Portable chargers pose a hazard in flight if they overheat. Some airlines ban the item on board and others require the crew to be notified if the passenger notices the device is getting too hot.
The lithiumion batteries in these chargers provide energy through electrochemical reactions that naturally generate heat.
In a statement, the airline said: “Scoot sincerely apologizes for the incident. The safety of our customers and crew is our top priority. The investigation into the incident is ongoing. We are rescheduling the flight and will provide accommodation and food for affected passengers.”
It’s not the first time chargers have endangered a flight: in 2020, a man was forced to strip down to his pants at the airport after an electronic device caught fire in his pocket.
Meanwhile, a Russian Ural Airways flight was evacuated last month after one of its loaders caught fire on the runway at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport.
*Internship at R7under the direction of Pablo Marques