According to Yonhap News, an Indian passenger plane experienced a battery fire incident on October 11 (local time).
The incident occurred on a domestic flight operated by IndiGo Airlines, which was carrying over 190 passengers and crew members from Delhi to Chennai. Smoke emanated from a battery stored in the overhead compartment, leading to a fire.
Although the crew successfully extinguished the flames, the aircraft changed its course and made an emergency landing as per protocol.
In October, another IndiGo flight returned to the parking area before takeoff due to a battery ignition issue. Last month, a KLM passenger plane also turned back over the Atlantic for the same reason.
Battery fire incidents involving passenger planes have been occurring frequently in South Korea as well. On the same day, a flight from Cheongju Airport to Jeju experienced a delay of over five hours due to a fire caused by a battery held by a passenger. Fortunately, the incident occurred before takeoff, preventing a major accident.
On September 27, Yonhap News reported that, according to data submitted by the Korea Airports Corporation and Incheon International Airport Corporation to Lee Yong-seon, a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, a total of 267,983 violations involving unauthorized batteries were detected during security screenings from January to August of this year.
Since the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport established guidelines for managing the onboard transport of batteries and electronic cigarettes in March of last year, a total of 608,370 violations have been recorded. This averages over 1,000 violations detected daily at airport security checkpoints. Although airlines provide guidance on hazardous materials during the check-in process, there are concerns about the limitations of these measures.
In response to the increasing number of in-flight battery fire incidents, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) introduced new international safety standards in April, banning the use of batteries on aircraft. Under the new regulations, passengers are allowed to bring a maximum of two batteries with a capacity of 160Wh or less, while batteries exceeding this capacity are prohibited from being brought on board.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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