Air China Flight to Incheon Makes Emergency Landing in Shanghai Due to Cabin Luggage Fire

Spontaneous Ignition of Lithium Battery Identified as Cause

A China International Airlines (Air China) passenger flight en route from Hangzhou to Incheon made an emergency landing in Shanghai due to a fire in the cabin luggage compartment.

According to Air China and local media reports on October 18, flight CA139 (an Airbus A321), which departed from Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport at 9:47 a.m. local time, experienced a fire in the baggage compartment during the flight and made an emergency landing at Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 11:05 a.m. The flight later departed Shanghai at 3:03 p.m. and arrived at Incheon International Airport at 5:34 p.m.

Videos released on social media show flames erupting from an overhead luggage bin, with passengers screaming in shock and flight attendants extinguishing the fire with fire extinguishers. One passenger described the incident, saying, "There was a popping sound and sparks flew."

Air China stated, "It was confirmed that a lithium battery inside a bag placed in the luggage compartment by a passenger spontaneously ignited," and added, "The crew immediately extinguished the fire, and there were no casualties." The airline further explained, "For safety reasons, the aircraft landed in Shanghai for inspection before resuming operations."

Chinese authorities, in response to a series of recent in-flight fires caused by portable batteries, have banned the carriage of batteries without the national '3C' safety certification mark on aircraft since June of this year.