A plane was forced to make an emergency landing after a passenger’s power bank caught fire 35,000ft in the air over India.
The Delhi to Chennai flight operated by India’s top carrier, IndiGo, was abruptly diverted to Hyderabad this afternoon.
Passengers noticed smoke spewing from the overhead bins around halfway into the two-and-a-half-hour flight.
Footage shared on social media shows the compartment interior ablaze as passengers move their bags away.
The cabin crew put out the fire with fire extinguishers, IndiGo said.
The airline said a ‘customer’s personal electronic device’ burst into flames, with Indian news channel NDTV reporting it was a power bank.
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Flight 6E 6115 took off from New Delhi at 1.30pm local time, set to land in the southern city of Chennai at 4pm.
But at around 2.50pm, the plane began to descend from 35,000ft to 3,700ft, according to aviation tracker FlightAware.
The plane turned 90° and landed at Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at 3.30pm.
IndiGo said: ‘The cabin crew responded promptly, and the situation was brought under control.
‘In line with established protocols, the pilots diverted the flight and landed safely at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad.’
An alternate plane was arranged for passengers to fly to Chennai.
‘We regret the inconvenience caused to our customers due to this unforeseen situation and are making all efforts to minimise it, including offering refreshments and sharing timely updates,’ IndiGo added.
‘At IndiGo, the safety of our customers and crew remains our top priority.’
Are power banks a flight risk?
Power banks are only allowed in hand luggage, according to IndiGo’s ‘dangerous items’ policy.
The policy states that they ‘must remain within the passenger’s personal reach at all times’, such as under the seat.
‘Power must be visible on the battery; more than 160 Wh not allowed,’ the airline adds.
The portable charger cannot be stowed in the overhead compartment or cabin luggage.
Lithium batteries, which power banks use, have been used in smartphones and laptops for decades and are heavily regulated.
But portable chargers aren’t as regulated, meaning the danger lies in off-market, damaged or improperly charged power banks, Giuseppe Capanna, product safety engineer at Electrical Safety First, told .
‘Power banks are popular travel items that keep you powered up on the go,’ Capanna says.
‘But they contain lithium-ion batteries which can hold a sizable amount of energy in a very small space, so can pose a serious fire risk if they become damaged or are manufactured to a substandard level.’
Electrical Safety First, a charity, says that power banks can even explode if the battery is damaged, overcharged, overheated or exposed to water.
These can cause a chemical reaction inside the self-fueling battery, called a ‘thermal runaway’, that makes the battery cells volatile and hot.
A sign this could happen is if the power bank begins to swell and appear misshapen.
People should dispose of damaged or deformed power banks by dropping them off at their local recycling centre.
The fire risk posed by lithium batteries is now the number one safety risk to planes, according to the Civil Aviation Authority.
The regulator said that in 2024, 316 incidents of devices with lithium batteries detected in hold bags were reported. In 2025, that rose to 643.
Reports of devices overheating or malfunctioning nearly doubled the same year, from 123 to 206, or about two a week.
Capanna adds: ‘Always follow airline rules and never put power banks in your checked luggage.
‘Only take them in the cabin and if you spot any signs of damage or deformation while flying, alert airline staff straight away.’
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