Copyright independent
The Qantas business lounge at Melbourne Airport in Australia had to be evacuated on Thursday after a passenger’s power bank burst into flames and left him with burn injuries. The man, 50, was waiting in the lounge when the device, powered by a lithium battery, reportedly ignited in his trouser pocket at around 11am local time on Thursday. Staff promptly directed the man into a shower and rushed around 150 passengers out of the lounge. Passengers who were in the lounge said that they heard screaming and saw the device explode and send “battery acid flying everywhere”. “His jacket caught on fire,” a traveller shared on social media. “They evacuated us because the smoke and smell was so strong, but I really just hope the guy is okay.” The man was taken to hospital with significant burn injuries on his leg and fingers. Qantas confirmed the incident and said it was reviewing its policies on lithium battery devices. “The lounge was evacuated as a precaution and emergency services treated the customer on site,” an airline spokesperson told 7NEWS. “We worked with the Melbourne airport to clean the lounge and it has since reopened.” Film producer Leanne Tonkes, who was in the lounge at the time, shared an image of the charred device on the floor surrounded by warning signs. She praised the “quick thinking from the man who jumped in to help and the staff who got him in the shower and everyone else out of the lounge”. A series of incidents involving lithium battery devices, including overheating power banks, have prompted aviation authorities across the world to tighten rules around carrying them on flights. Aviation rules generally allow power banks in cabin baggage, but airlines are increasingly banning their use onboard and insisting they must be kept within view to spot any problems. Lithium batteries in devices like laptops, mobile phones, electronic cigarettes, and power banks can produce smoke, fire or extreme heat when manufacturing faults or damage cause them to short-circuit. They are a growing concern for aviation safety as passengers carry more battery-powered items on flights. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission witnessed a 92 per cent increase in reported incidents involving lithium batteries in 2022, according to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. Emirates has banned the use of power banks aboard its planes. Virgin Australia has updated its policy asking passengers to keep them within arm’s reach following a fire on a flight from Sydney to Hobart due to a power bank in an overhead locker. In January this year, South Korea said a spare power bank was the possible cause of a fire that had engulfed a Busan Air flight to Hong Kong.
