A Royal Air Philippines flight en route to Shanghai, China, diverted to Hong Kong on Monday, February 19th, after a passenger’s power bank malfunctioned and began emitting smoke.
Flight RW-602, an Airbus A320-214 (registered RP-C9799) departing from Caticlan, Philippines, was cruising at 35,000 feet when the incident occurred.
The cabin crew responded quickly to the thermal runaway of the power bank. Still, the resulting smoke prompted the pilots to divert to Hong Kong International Airport, where the aircraft landed safely.
Based on data from FlightRadar24.com, the A320 flight began to turn for Hong Kong at 7:28 PM (UTC+8), almost two hours into the flight. Approximately 40 minutes later, the aircraft landed safely on Hong Kong’s Runway 07L.
None of the passengers or crew members were injured during the incident.
After the situation was brought under control, the flight continued to Shanghai with a delay of approximately three hours.
Royal Air Philippines did not respond to AUP’s request for comment sent through the airline’s email.
The cause of the power bank’s malfunction is still under investigation.
Aviation regulations generally prohibit placing power banks and other lithium-ion battery devices in checked luggage due to the risk of fire.
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