"Just One Phrase 'My Phone Is Missing' Causes Surprise... Emergency Aircraft Return Commotion"

Plane Returns to Departure Point After Passenger Loses Phone
Flight Turns Back Two Hours After Takeoff Due to Missing Device

Amid growing global concerns about battery fires, including strengthened regulations on carrying portable phone batteries on airplanes, an incident occurred in France where a passenger boarded a plane but could not find their phone, causing the plane to return to its departure point.

According to the US daily Washington Post (WP) on the 28th (local time), on the 21st, an Air France Boeing 777 flight departing from Paris Orly Airport to Guadeloupe, a French territory in the Caribbean, turned back to its origin after takeoff because a passenger could not find their phone. At the time, the plane was carrying 375 passengers and 12 crew members.

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The plane, which had just left the French coast, turned around and returned to Paris, arriving at Orly Airport a little over two hours after takeoff. After staff thoroughly searched the plane, the missing phone was eventually found, and the plane departed again for its destination. However, Air France did not disclose where the phone was lost or where it was found.

WP reported that "the flight that departed again arrived at its destination, Guadeloupe, about four hours later than scheduled." Air France expressed regret over the incident but emphasized that "the safety of customers and crew is our airline's top priority."

In France, in February, an Air France flight departing from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport also returned to its departure point to retrieve a passenger's phone that had fallen between seats. WP noted that Air France's decision to return reflects the increasing global awareness in the aviation industry regarding lithium battery fires related to phones and portable batteries. It also added that in January, in Korea, a fire suspected to have been caused by a portable battery occurred on an Air Busan flight, leading passengers to evacuate onto the runway.

Hassan Shahidi, head of the US Flight Safety Foundation (FSF), said, "Losing a phone on board is not common, but if a phone is stuck between seats under pressure, it can be very dangerous," adding, "Air France's decision to turn the plane around was appropriate."