FROM NEW YORK POST: A packed Air China flight bound for Seoul was forced to make an emergency landing in Shanghai on Saturday after a lithium battery inside a passenger’s carry-on luggage erupted in flames, filling the cabin with smoke.
The blaze broke out aboard Flight CA139, which had departed Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport at 9:47 a.m. local time with 160 passengers and crew headed to South Korea’s Incheon International Airport, according to statements from the airline and Chinese state media.
Air China said in a post on Weibo that “a lithium battery in a passenger’s carry-on luggage stored in the overhead compartment spontaneously ignited.”
In a video of the incident, flames and smoke could be seen coming from an overhead compartment. Moments before, a passenger says they heard an explosion in that area.
According to local outlets, the item that caused to explosion is believed to be a power bank battery. Officials have not provided the brand or manufacturer.
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued guidance for lithium batteries on planes, noting that “Power Banks, cell phone battery charging cases, rechargeable and non-rechargeable lithium batteries, cell phone batteries, laptop batteries, power banks, external batteries, portable rechargers” pose a hazard.
From the FAA:
Lithium batteries are required to undergo safety testing, all lithium ion batteries are capable of overheating and undergoing a process called thermal runaway. Thermal runaway can occur without warning as a result of various factors, including if the battery is damaged, overheated, exposed to water, overcharged, or improperly packed. Thermal runaway can also occur on its own due to manufacturing defects.
Flight crews are trained to recognize and respond to lithium battery fires in the cabin. Passengers should notify flight crew immediately if their lithium battery or device is overheating, expanding, smoking or burning.
Spare (uninstalled) lithium ion and lithium metal batteries, including power banks and cell phone battery charging cases, must be carried in carry-on baggage only. When a carry-on bag is checked at the gate or at planeside, all spare lithium batteries and power banks must be removed from the bag and kept with the passenger in the aircraft cabin. The battery terminals must be protected from short circuit. a self-heating reaction that can trigger explosions if a cell is damaged, overheated, overcharged or exposed to water.
No one was hurt in the incident on the Air China plane.
Plane Makes Emergency Landing After Lithium Battery Ignites in Flames in Traveler’s Carry-On Luggage https://t.co/pbLcCBCAVj
— People (@people) October 19, 2025
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