EasyJet flight diverts to Rome over power bank in luggage
Posted by mesaosi@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 106 comments
3 hours into a 5 hour flight and the passenger suddenly has some sort of moment of clarity or what? Very strange turn of events.
Upstairs_Balance_464@reddit
I get that the pilots had to divert once they learned of this and I know the Hank Hill keyboard warrior types on here will say it was the right thing to do but I guarantee you the pilots and dispatchers wish they person had just kept their mouth shut.
Fair_Environment_233@reddit
I fly a ton and this is a huge concern/security hole I see around gate checked bags. I recently got gate checked unexpectedly and it happened pretty quick/I wasn’t in the right mindset of what should be taken out. They also didn’t reiterate what should be taken out in that moment, so if you don’t fly often and don’t know off the top of your head you’re kind of screwed. Thankfully nothing was in that bag that was an issue, but the whole flight I was super paranoid I had forgotten something dangerous. Seems like it would be completely easy to do.
lyricaldorian@reddit
I flew for the first time on 20 years a year ago. It was after takeoff when I saw my laptop in my bag before I realized I hadn't even thought about which bag my laptop was on when I gate checked my one carry on.
Main_Violinist_3372@reddit
Is there a way where X-ray machines can sort of detect these power banks in checked in baggage? Because I have the impression that the only method currently is by the check in agent asking “do you have any power banks in your luggage”, seems like a system with many holes in it. I feel that another Swissair 111 is bound to happen.
Slice5755@reddit
Wasn't SwissAir 111 more about the airline modifying the inflight entertainment system and screwing up the wiring?
OmegaPoint6@reddit
Either they were only informed about it mid flight or their brain kept showing them images of their potential fiery demise
JamminOnTheOne@reddit
Or they realized it was in their baggage mid flight. E.g. they thought it was in their personal bag, but then couldn’t find it there and realized it was in their checked luggage.
rvr600@reddit
I've had this exact scenario on a flight I operated. Fortunately during boarding.
A lady went through her bag to find a phone charger and noticed the cord and her power bank were in her checked luggage.
She was super apologetic, but we made sure she knew that 20 minute delay is worth the piece of mind.
JamminOnTheOne@reddit
finnknit@reddit
This also seems like the most likely scenario to me. Halfway into the flight, the passenger wanted to plug their device into the power bank, and suddenly realized that it wasn't in their carry-on.
sofixa11@reddit
Idk about easyJet, but consistent with the latest ICAO guidance, power banks have been banned (to use) on all flgihts I've taken recently. With an explicit cabin crew announcement at the beginning of flight.
DerGuteFee@reddit
On all flights recently the actual use of power banks was banned with a lot, if not all, airlines. You still can bring them, up to a certain mWh capacity, in your hand luggage and you have to have them on or in front of you and not in the overhead bins.
matomo23@reddit
It’s one thing banning them but are they enforcing it and are they telling people at check in? More and more airlines have self-check in of hold luggage now.
doubleoned@reddit
Probably made them gate check carry-on and they didn't think about it until mid flight.
finnknit@reddit
That is very plausible. I've accepted an offer to gate check my carry-on before and forgot to take my medications out of it. Thankfully, it only mildly inconvenienced me, but I could see another passenger making the same mistake forgetting to take out out a power bank before gate checking a bag.
sirwritestoomuch@reddit
I thought checked bags were scanned for power banks?
unique_usemame@reddit
Quite possibly someone boarding at the last minute had their carry on gate checked and momentarily forgot about the battery pack.
Frzy8@reddit
Agreed, at least they made the right call to inform the crew.
blynd_snyper@reddit
Can anyone in the know tell me if they reckon the aviation industry's just culture extends to the passenger, in this instance?
Gastroid@reddit
I just hope all the passengers on board will avoid logging trucks for the foreseeable future.
matomo23@reddit
It bothers me that they aren’t more strict on this though. And won’t hold luggage scanning vary by airport? And actually do they check for power banks at any airport? Say if they saw one, what then? Your hold bag tends not to get scanned when you’re actually with it.
TERRAIN_PULL_UP_@reddit
I have a feeling some temu powerbank is going to cause a serious incident someday
FEMA_Camp_Survivor@reddit
A personal fear is it happening over the ocean.
SpecsyVanDyke@reddit
They are very hot on power banks in Asia. Always checked for quality and specific markings. Needs to be that level of control all over the world
Stoney3K@reddit
And then anything that contains a battery will be banned from flying forever. No laptops, no phones, no headphones...
maxipanda8321@reddit
Then flying will die. Simple as that
Parking-Car-8433@reddit
It will, younger people care for the planet
Savings-Coffee@reddit
Younger people are also interested in visiting places that require flying
Tusan1222@reddit
That’s why some airlines have banned all powerbanks except if you have them on you or under the seat.
sofixa11@reddit
It's also ICAO's official recommendation and at least some air authorities and many airlines have already implemented it
DarkHelmet@reddit
And also banned the use of them in flight.
OneWorld87@reddit
Just a matter of time
DismalIngenuity4604@reddit
Negative time?
Antique_Change2805@reddit
It already has multiple times.
TheIncredibleWalrus@reddit
Can you share more details?
Antique_Change2805@reddit
https://avherald.com/h?search_term=powerbank&opt=0&dosearch=1&search.x=43&search.y=13
raisinghellions@reddit
This entry is frying me
Zakluor@reddit
Simon, the admin of that site, has some comical one-line summaries sometimes.
Technical-Shape-5554@reddit
Already has, check out air Busan 391
phaederus@reddit
more like Temu brains..
maricc@reddit
Probably went to go charge his shit and realized it was in the checked luggage
localhost8100@reddit
In Asia, they are not even allowing charging inside cabin anymore. My power bank was useless the whole trip lol. In airport i charged using ports and done. flights didn't have port to charge in.
Krandor1@reddit
Is there something about flying (pressure difference or something) that makes the lithium batteries more likely to have issues in a plane vs on the ground? I do understand a fire on a plane especially in the cargo hold is a much bigger deal then on the ground but is there something about the plane or flying that makes that kind of fire more likely?
52-61-64-75@reddit
Power bank charging in the checked luggage, not just in the checked luggage
Firm_Union8883@reddit
Charging with what? Another power bank?
idkblk@reddit
Probably was charging go pro batteries or whatever. I've done the same... just not in a plane.... but in my car luggage.
Krandor1@reddit
Yeah I’ve at times plugged my charger into my phone or headphones or something and put it in my backpack to charge…. Not on a plane though.
JimTheJerseyGuy@reddit
Powerbank centipede.
SEA_CLE@reddit
Yeah you aren't even supposed to charge it inside a carry on bag, needs to be done in sight
OldWolf3@reddit
My recent Singapore air flights banned the use of charge blocks in flight . The seats offered USB charging , and charge banks had to be in overhead lockers only
peepay@reddit
Lufthansa actually bans them from overhead lockers too.
Has to be on your person or in your reach (in the carry-on under the seat, etc.)
SaysReddit@reddit
Nice, 20 watts of juice that might have a hidden data connection.
small_big@reddit
I recently flew Finnair, Norwegian, and KLM and they both banned any use of the power bank in flight. It was supposed to be in sight at all times, but not in use.
BPfishing@reddit
IMO They don’t do a really good job at informing people of how dangerous lithium batteries can be while flying.
ninj1nx@reddit
They literally ask you any time you check in luggage
AbaloneTogether@reddit
In my experience they ask in one big breath along with a list of other items, very quickly. I can definitely see how most people would just say “no” when they fly through a list of prohibited items as they are taking your bag from you
finnknit@reddit
If they even name the items at all. I've often just been asked "Do you have any prohibited items in your checked bag?". Sometimes they've shown me a card with pictures of the prohibited items and asked I have "any of these items". I do remember lithium ion batteries and what to do if your device overheat being mentioned in the onboard safety briefing, though.
Krandor1@reddit
Yeah in the US that is my experience on the kiosk they just display a page “do you have any of these?” And honestly I barely look at it,
immoralsupport_@reddit
They also ask if you have any “lithium ion batteries.” They don’t ask if you have a laptop, power bank, etc. in there. I could see people thinking “oh I don’t have any batteries in my luggage” thinking of the loose batteries
Ok-Sherbert-2790@reddit
Yeah, not so long ago I definitely did not fully grasp that I carry at least one lithium ion battery on me at all times.
AbaloneTogether@reddit
Right? I think it’s wishful thinking to imagine that everyone is going to even know what a lithium ion battery is
DarkHelmet@reddit
And that's why you can't put anything with an old school AA battery inside your checked bag in some countries (Philippines in my experience).
ninj1nx@reddit
What other items? It's the only thing you absolutely cannot have in your checked in luggage. I've never been asked anything else than "any batteries?" when checking in luggage.
AbaloneTogether@reddit
https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/whatcanibring/all
Yeah nice and easy to go through 🙄
ecco311@reddit
I am surprised it doesn't happen more often when people are asked to check in their hand luggage.
I always say no because I always have batteries in there. But I think it's easy to forget about sone item in there when you're just asked about it at the check in.
I've had cases where the loading workers literally asked at the door of the plane to take people's hand luggage.
Surely this must be happening A LOT without anyone noticing.
lotsofhangnails@reddit
Firearms, fireworks, chemicals
BPfishing@reddit
Yeah they quickly ask you if you have any. They don’t mention they’re asking because they can rupture and catch fire and potentially kill everyone on the plane.
lollipoppizza@reddit
Yeah but most people are so used to saying "no" when asked about if they have anything in their luggage. If they said "hey this is a big deal, planes have crashed because of this" then people would care more.
HarpersGhost@reddit
They don't do a good job of informing ANYONE how dangerous lithium ion batteries are.
My mom thought it was weird that her phone was running hot and the battery compartment was getting bigger. She thought she might have been using her phone too much.
No, mom, your battery is going bad and needs to be disposed of properly before it catches fire and burns you.
Many people are starting to realize that with EVs, but don't realize that all those small rechargeables floating around the house have the same problem.
Redebo@reddit
How many vapes and penjamins are in everyone’s backpacks, purses and pockets every flight.
Lithium is incredibly safe to make and use, right up until it isn’t. Then it acts like it’s sodium or potassium taking a bath.
rcplaneguy@reddit
The people who need to be informed the most. Probably don’t know or care what a lithoum battery is
unique_usemame@reddit
Yeah even though everyone is told to leave behind their carry on wheel doing an emergency evacuation, half the people do anyway. That is despite everyone knowing what a carry on is, and hearing the announcement every flight.
monstherocket@reddit
Agree, as informed as people in this sub may be, there are so many people that assume because they are freely sold everywhere, that they must be safe.
its_all_one_electron@reddit
Lots of questions
1, why wasn't this caught by the scanners? Obviously the carry on scanners can catch it, do they not scan checked luggage in the same way?
2, isn't there a fire suppression system in the luggage compartment?
3, how can a powerbank be charging while in luggage?
tarmacjd@reddit
1 - no they don’t scan every bag/flight. This is impractical and afaik nowhere does.
2 - yes but a fire on a plane is still a fire on a plane. You have about 15 minutes to land or die.
3 - plugged into another device.
Bones1973@reddit
Every bag DOES get scanned whether it’s your personal bag through security or whether it’s a checked bag. You really think they’re going to let a bunch of bags go under the plane unscanned? You do realize a checked bag goes through a scanner correct?
donkeyrocket@reddit
Right but scanning a personal bag with a lithium ion battery won’t throw any flags. What likely happened was it was checked gate side and the passenger forgot they had the battery and was charging something.
They don’t rescan bags that are checked gate side.
tarmacjd@reddit
No they don’t. Yes bags can go on planes without being scanned.
It may be a US thing that you’re referring to.
Bones1973@reddit
Are you 15? Are you rage baiting? There’s no way you believe bags don’t get scanned, even in other parts of the world. Have you never heard of the Lockerbie bombing (Pan Am 103)? That incident literally changed bag screenings around the world.
tarmacjd@reddit
If you fly regional in NZ they don’t even have security checks at all, let alone bag scanning.
Not everywhere is as you assume.
Here’s a question - if this bag was scanned, how did it miss the lithium battery?
its_all_one_electron@reddit
Oh so you mean it was charging something else?
I thought the connection was: When "charging" is used intransitivly ("it was charging"), it means it was receiving the power from something else. If used transitively ("it was charging my phone"), then it is giving the power.
KikeRiffs@reddit
My guess is that this was initially not a checked in luggage, but the flight was full and told passagers about some carry on going onto checked in luggage. Probably this passenger forgot it left it charging a device.
sofixa11@reddit
Yes, thanks to ValuJet. But it still would only buy some time at best because lithium fires cannot be stopped. You immerse it in water and wait for the chemical reaction to stop, which can take days (for a power bank it's probably in the hours range).
I've been on planes where they had "lithium fire containment bags" in the cabin. Presumably they at least keep the smoke enclosed.
ninj1nx@reddit
SEA_CLE@reddit
This one was actively charging
Bones1973@reddit
LochNessJohnster@reddit
I’m a captain for easyJet so can weigh in a little bit. About a month ago quite a lot of our standard procedures got a shake up and so did the dangerous goods part of our manual. Battery banks are not allowed and the likes of laptops can only be kept in cabin luggage. Obviously these guys did the sensible thing in diverting, there is a 99.99% chance that it would have been fine but as soon as you find that 0.01% is when people are re-enacting the flight on air crash investigation…
doctorfortoys@reddit
One can only guess what was happening with the passenger that pulled that.
pete8686@reddit
Accolades for having the courage to speak up. Hopefully.
We all make mistakes.
Felt_tip_Penis@reddit
Full props for even realising how dangerous the situation is. I’m sure a lot of people would have just thought “damn can’t charge my phone now” and thought nothing else of it
PerfectlyBoosted@reddit
I was reading an AskReddit thread where a baggage handler mentioned that a surprising number of bags contain adult toys that accidentally turn on while being shuffled around in transit and they could hear them vibrating. I guarantee most people don’t think about the risks they pose.
phaederus@reddit
Tbh, I hope nothing, as it'd just dissuade people from self reporting in future..
coasterghost@reddit
Honestly it’s easier to enforce a certification mark like the CCC mark in China.
carrickshairline@reddit
A friend of mine is running the campaign with the CAA to encourage passengers to ensure this doesn’t happen. Obviously there’s no guarantee people won’t put them in their hold luggage, but they say they’ve seen a reduction in it.
abbeast@reddit
Isn’t this also partly on the people that are supposed to check the checked luggage for forbidden items?
unique_usemame@reddit
How do you think they check a carry on that gets gate checked?
They don't delay planes for half an hour to take the bags back to the scanning area to see if it has items that can't be checked in.
When carry on bags are scanned they are allowed to have battery packs and are allowed to be accessed after TSA.
faster_tomcat@reddit
I bet it was a carryon that got gate checked at the last minute.
Great_Comparison462@reddit
What a wild overreaction from the pilots. Wasn't even any indication of fire.
doomedmammal@reddit
Why dont they check for this in security or check in? Given how dangerous it is it only makes sense. Last i traveled the lady at check in asked me if I had a power bank and I was like "No" and she checked my bag, what if I had lied? There are lots of dull people
No-Fisherman6800@reddit
All Bro had to do was sit quietly
Gositi@reddit
I'd rather have 100 diversions than one fire in the luggage compartment.
Reimiro@reddit
There are plenty of batteries in the hold on every flight. Many people just don’t report it and don’t care.
Bones1973@reddit
Have you ever put out a lithium battery fire on a plane? I have. The fire suppression system in cargo is not long enough to extinguish a battery fire.
Lucky_Yam6126@reddit
“A spokesperson for the airline said: "The aircraft landed safely and passengers disembarked routinely and we provided hotel accommodation and meals where available. As some customers remained in the airport, they were provided with refreshments.”
If this was the US, they’d be given a middle finger and told to rebook their own flights lmao
Gotta love how well others do it compared to some.
monstherocket@reddit
Just pointing out here that thankfully there is Eu Law that covers events like these so they are required to provide the food / hotel and compensation (all of this independent of how much you payed for your ticket but depends more on the duration of the delay)
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