Power Bank Catches Fire on Aircraft, Forcing Emergency Diversion

A power bank caught fire in the cabin of an IndiGo aircraft travelling from New Delhi to Chennai, India, on Sunday. The incident, involving more than 180 passengers, prompted the pilot to divert the flight to Hyderabad as an emergency measure.

The Airbus A321, flight 6E 6115, landed safely at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, with no passengers injured, The New Indian Express reported on Monday (12 October 2026). IndiGo said in a statement that “the cabin crew responded promptly and the situation was brought under control”.

Videos of the incident circulating on social media showed flames coming from an overhead storage compartment. Several passengers appeared to try to put out the fire using cloth and bags, while one passenger could be heard asking people to remain calm.

According to FlightAware data, the aircraft took off from Terminal 1 of Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport at about 1.30pm local time and was due to arrive in Chennai at 4pm. Instead, it landed in Hyderabad at 3.59pm after the diversion.

IndiGo said the flight was diverted after smoke was detected coming from a passenger’s personal electronic device. The airline arranged a replacement aircraft to continue the journey to Chennai and provided passengers with refreshments and updates.

“We regret the inconvenience caused to our customers by this unforeseen situation,” the airline said.

The incident has again highlighted the risk of lithium-ion battery fires involving power banks on aircraft. Such devices are prohibited in checked baggage and may only be carried in the cabin under safety rules. Following several similar incidents, the use of power banks to charge electronic devices during flights also began to be prohibited in late 2025.

Earlier, on 5 May 2026, a power bank caught fire on IndiGo flight 6E 108 after the aircraft arrived in Chandigarh from Hyderabad. The flight, carrying 204 people, including crew, declared an emergency and all passengers were evacuated. Five people were reported injured.

On 19 October 2025, a passenger’s power bank also caught fire on IndiGo flight 6E 2107 from Delhi to Dimapur as the aircraft was preparing for take-off. The device, stored in a seat-back pocket, caused smoke and forced the aircraft to return to its parking stand.