China Southern Airlines flight delayed after portable charger bursts into flames
BEIJING: A portable charger burst into flames in the overhead compartment of a China Southern Airlines plane on Sunday afternoon (Feb 25), as passengers were boarding at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.
The incident caused a three-hour flight delay on flight CZ3539, which had been scheduled to depart for Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport at around noon.
China Southern Airlines said on Chinese microblogging site Weibo that a passenger's cabin bag had emitted smoke and fire during the boarding process.
However, the fire was quickly extinguished by airport firefighters and security officers, it said.
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Preliminary investigations revealed that the fire was caused by a portable charger, which was not in use at the time.
The owner of the cabin bag is currently assisting in investigations.
In a video that has been making rounds online, a flight attendant and a passenger are seen trying to douse the flames using bottles of water and juice.
Portable chargers and lithium-ion batteries - used in many consumer devices from laptops to toys - typically have to be hand carried on flights and cannot be checked in. There are also restrictions on the watt-hour (Wh) ratings of these items.