A powerbank charging a mobile phone
An AvSax lithium battery fire mitigation bag
Make sure you take all these personal electronic devices into the passenger cabin with you
A passenger plane flying to the UK had to divert to Italy when a passenger told crew his powerbank was charging in his suitcase which was in the cargo hold.
The story has made headlines around the world and the reason the pilot had no choice but to make the diversion and emergency landing in Rome was to avoid the chance of the device overheating and causing a fire in the hold which could have been catastrophic.
The hope now is that people read about the case, learn from it and will never put their electronic devices in luggage which goes into the hold again.
The EasyJet flight was cruising at 36,000ft from Hurghada in Egypt to London Luton on May 19, 2026, when the captain deciding to divert ‘in line with safety regulations.’
It’s thought the passenger said a mobile phone was being charged by his power bank.
Most airlines now have a strict rule that all electronic devices must be in hand luggage in the passenger cabin so if they start to overheat or even catch fire the crew can deal with the incident.
Many airline companies now carry lithium battery thermal mitigation bags such as the British invented AvSax which will contain the device and cool it.
When lithium batteries overheat they go into a chemical process called thermal runaway and when this happens it can produce enough heat – up to 900°C (1652°F) – to cause adjacent cells to overheat.
This can cause a lithium battery fire to flare repeatedly and they are then very difficult to put out. They can even explode.
Thousands of aircraft worldwide now carry AvSax lithium battery fire containment bags which won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the UK for their innovation – the highest award any business can get.
AvSax special projects director Jessica Bailey: “In the EasyJet case the powerbank was in the hold out of reach so the pilot was absolutely correct to divert and land. Passenger safety is absolutely paramount.
“We can only hope that the widespread media coverage means people read about this case, learn from it and will never put their power banks or any other electronic devices such as laptops, vapes and iPads in their luggage which goes in the hold.
“Electronic devices in the passenger cabin can be quickly and efficiently dealt with by the crew in an emergency which often avoids the need for an emergency landing which is costly to the airline company and very disruptive for the passengers.
“Aircraft equipped with lithium battery containment bags such as AvSax usually carry on to their destination knowing the overheating device is safely contained.’’
