Air China has confirmed that a in-flight fire in an Airbus A321 overhead luggage bin was caused by a lithium battery.
The A321 had departed Hangzhou for Seoul as flight CA139 on 18 October, and was around 40min into the service when the incident occurred.
Air China, through its official social media channel, says the lithium battery in a passenger’s carry-on luggage “spontaneously combusted” in the overhead bin.
“The crew immediately handled the situation according to procedures, and no one was injured,” it adds.
Air China says the aircraft’s crew diverted to Shanghai Pudong airport.
Video footage purportedly capturing the occurrence has been circulated online, showing flames in the overhead bin located on the right side near an overwing exit.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China took measures earlier this year to ban passengers from carrying power banks without safety certification marks – a ruling which took effect on 28 June.
“There have been numerous incidents of lithium battery products, such as power banks, catching fire and emitting smoke on board aircraft carried by passengers,” the CAAC notification stated.
It added that “several” power bank suppliers had recalled batches of products citing battery safety risks and that state regulators had revoked or suspended the certification of a number of manufacturers.
Bans on power banks had already been put in place by other Asian civil aviation authorities following the fire which destroyed an Air Busan A321 as it prepared for departure at Gimhae on 28 January this year.
Hong Kong’s regulator tightened its rules in March, just after a Hong Kong Airlines A320 – which, like the Air China flight, had departed from Hangzhou – diverted to Fuzhou after an overhead bin fire.
