A smartphone caught fire on a British Airways flight on Thursday as it was taxiing for takeoff at Tokyo’s Haneda airport, but there were no injuries among the 211 passengers and crew onboard, Japan’s transport ministry said.
According to the ministry’s Tokyo airport office, the smartphone is believed to have belonged to a passenger, and crew members put out the fire with an onboard extinguisher. A crew member reported to the office around 1:10 p.m. that smoke was coming from the cabin.
The aircraft returned to its parking stand as a precaution, but departed for London after safety checks were completed.
Fires and smoke incidents involving lithium-ion batteries in smartphones and power banks have increased in recent years.
Japan’s transport ministry tightened rules in April by limiting passengers to two power banks on flights and banning them from being used and charged onboard.
© KYODO
