A man has caught fire at Melbourne international airport after a lithium power bank in his pocket ignited, leaving him with burns to his leg and fingers.
The man, aged in his 50s, was in the Qantas business lounge on Thursday morning when the overheated power bank burst into flames, filling the exclusive area with smoke and prompting about 150 people to be evacuated.
Staff quickly helped the man into a shower before paramedics arrived to treat his injuries. He was taken to hospital in a stable condition and later released.
A witness said they saw “battery acid flying everywhere,” according to the Age newspaper. A Qantas spokesperson said the lounge was cleaned and re-opened two hours later.
Australian film producer Leanne Tonkes was in the lounge on Thursday morning when she heard the commotion. She posted an image of the burnt power bank moments after it had exploded.
“Hoping the man who caught fire holding it is ok,” she wrote on Instagram.
“Quick thinking from the man who jumped in to help and the staff who got him in the shower and everyone else out of the lounge.”
Qantas is currently reviewing its policy on passengers carrying any type of lithium batteries, including portable power banks, and is expected to provide an update shortly.
Many airlines now advise passengers travelling with power banks to keep them within reach – either in their seat pocket or in a bag under the seat in front of them – and not in the overhead luggage compartment.
In July, a fire broke out on a Virgin Australia flight from Sydney to Hobart, with a power bank in an overhead locker to blame.
The airline is looking to update its policy and customers are asked to keep portable power banks “in sight and within easy reach” during flights.
A portable power bank was also likely the cause of a fire that engulfed and destroyed a passenger plane in South Korea in January.
Several international airlines such as Emirates, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, Korean Air and Singapore Airlines have banned the use of power banks and the charging of them during flights.
There are also limits on how many rechargeable batteries passengers can carry based on their capacity. For instance, some airlines only allow two power banks with a capacity between 100Wh and 160Wh.
