Featured Image Credit: EPA
An airline has banned a popular travel item after it caught fire and destroyed one of its planes on the runway.
When you think of essential travel items for a long-haul flight, you might think of headphones for those back-to-back movies, a travel pillow for some comfort, and a power bank to charge your devices whilst in the air.
But, following a horrific incident, South Korea’s Air Busan will no longer allow passengers to store power banks in overhead luggage bins after a recent in-flight fire.
This comes after one of the airline's planes burst into flames on January 28 while preparing for takeoff to Hong Kong.
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A flight attendant first detected the fire in an overhead luggage bin on the rear left-hand side of the plane, Air Busan reported.
Thankfully, there were no casualties and all those on board were safely evacuated.
An investigation into the cause of the fire is being led by South Korean authorities. But no cause has been confirmed yet.
According to experts, air accidents are nearly always caused by a combination of factors.
Starting Friday, passenger carry-on bags will be inspected at boarding gates and those not containing power banks will be tagged and allowed in overhead luggage bins.
The measures will be rolled out on trial routes before expanding to all flights, as per the airline.
Moreover, passengers will be required to keep their portable power banks on them so any overheating, smoke or fire can be spotted and handled immediately.
In response to the increase in overheating power banks, Air Busan said they also implementing more fire safety training for crew members and additional fire containment equipment on board.
Lithium batteries are a type of rechargeable battery found in power banks and other devices such as laptops, mobile phones, tablets and electronic cigarettes.
Global aviation standards require that they are not to be stored in checked-in luggage because they can start fires if they short circuit, either through damage or manufacturing faults.
As a response, cabin crew tend to have fire extinguishers and thermal containment boxes or bags to isolate the devices.
Furthermore, South Korea has announced plans to revamp its aviation safety system following two major air incidents just a month apart.
“In order to restore trust in our country’s aviation safety system, the government will make a determined effort to rebuild the aviation safety system from the ground up,” said Deputy Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Baek Won-kuk in a ministry statement.
