Passenger’s mobile phone catches fire mid-air on Indigo flight to Delhi

A passenger’s mobile phone caught fire mid-air on an Indigo flight on Thursday (April 14). The fire was doused by the cabin crew with the help of a fire extinguisher.

The incident was reported on the A320 Neo aircraft flight (6E-2037) from Dibrugarh, Assam, to Delhi.

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According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials, a cabin crew member saw sparks and smoke emitting from a passenger’s phone. The fire was doused immediately and no injury was reported.

The aircraft made a safe landing in Delhi at 12:45 pm, according to DGCA officials.

‘Battery heating up abnormally’

The cause of fire has been due to the phone’s battery “heating up abnormally”, according the airline.

In a statement, IndiGo said, “There was an incident of a mobile device battery heating up abnormally on flight 6E 2037 from Dibrugarh to Delhi. The crew is trained to manage all hazardous incidences and they quickly managed the situation. There was no harm caused to any passenger or property onboard.”

There have been similar instances of phones catching fire or exploding.

Also, in 2018, there was an incident onboard a Chinese aircraft where a power bank caught fire. The power bank which was in a passenger’s handbag on the Guangzhou-Shanghai route, and was placed in the overhead bin, caught fire. The cabin crew used water to douse the fire. The video was widely shared on social media.

In 2019, similar incident was reported on a Royal Brunei Airlines flight from Hong Kong to Bandar Seri Begawan when a power bank caught fire.