Locker fire forces Hong Kong Airlines jet into emergency landing

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(Bloomberg) — A mid-air fire in the overhead lockers on a Hong Kong Airlines flight forced the jet into an emergency landing in China Thursday. None of the 168 passengers and crew on board were reported injured.

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Flight HX115, an Airbus SE A320 jet, took-off from Hangzhou, China en route to Hong Kong just before 1 p.m. local time before diverting to Fuzhou after a fire broke out in an overhead compartment, the airline said in an e-mailed statement. The fire was subsequently extinguished.

The airline didn’t specify the cause of the fire. However, social media videos circulating online showed a charred set of overhead lockers on the aircraft, pointing to a power bank fire.

In-flight incidents involving batteries have been on the rise. The risks associated with portable power banks have come into greater focus after an Air Busan Co. plane caught fire in January, with a hand-held battery recharger the suspected cause of the blaze. South Korean authorities responded by ordering travelers to seal up ports on chargers or place them in separate plastic bags. Earlier this month, a Batik Air flight filled with smoke from a burning power bank.

Following the South Korean fire in January, Singapore Airlines Ltd., Thai Airways and AirAsia said they would ban the use of power banks on their flights.

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