A Chinese passenger plane en route from China to Incheon made an emergency landing due to a fire caused by a spare battery carried by a Korean passenger.
The Chinese Air China CA139 Airbus flight, which departed from Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport at 9:47 AM local time today (18th) and was heading towards Incheon International Airport, made an emergency landing at Shanghai Pudong International Airport around 11:05 AM.
Air China stated that “a lithium battery inside the luggage checked in by a traveler spontaneously ignited,” and “the crew immediately responded according to procedures, so there were no casualties.”
They further explained, “For safety, the plane landed at Shanghai Pudong Airport and we adjusted the aircraft to continue flight operations.”
Videos circulated on social media show passengers screaming and the crew responding as a fire broke out in the luggage compartment.
The Korean passenger, who owned the malfunctioning spare battery, was investigated by Chinese authorities after the emergency landing and is expected to return home tomorrow (19th).
The flight departed from Shanghai at 3:03 PM and arrived at Incheon International Airport at 5:34 PM.
Due to a series of in-flight fires caused by spare batteries, Chinese authorities have banned domestic flights from carrying batteries without a national safety certification mark since June 28, but this rule does not apply to international flights.
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