Power Bank Fire Erupts at Gimhae Check-In

Power bank use prohibited on board aircraft (provided by Yonhap News Agency)  A commotion broke out as passengers evacuated after flames suddenly shot up from the bag of a traveler waiting to check in inside an airport terminal. With fires caused by power banks occurring frequently on aircraft in recent months, a similar incident at an airport ground counter has heightened concerns over battery safety management. At around 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 23, a bag belonging to a man waiting in line at an international check-in counter at Gimhae International Airport caught fire. It was confirmed that a mobile phone was being charged inside the bag using a power bank at the time. The fire did not escalate into a major accident because another passenger at the scene brought a nearby fire extinguisher and put it out directly. The people involved in the incident had been scheduled to depart for Cebu, the Philippines, on a Jin Air flight. One passenger who witnessed the scene said the fire was extinguished not by airline staff but by an ordinary passenger, and that the extinguisher had to be brought from a distance because it could not be found immediately. In response, Jin Air said it took action in accordance with the manual, including reporting the fire to relevant agencies such as the airport general situation room and the fire brigade as soon as staff became aware of it. Korea Airports Corporation, which is responsible for the placement and management of fire extinguishers, said there was no problem with the regulations. A corporation official explained that extinguishers are placed throughout the airport in accordance with the rule requiring one extinguisher every 20 m, and said that if one was not used in time, it may have been because people in panic were unable to find it. Fires related to power banks have recently been occurring one after another both at airports and on board aircraft. On Oct. 25, smoke was generated by overheating from a power bank on a Hong Kong-bound aircraft that was attempting to land at Jeju International Airport, injuring a passenger with burns. On Oct. 10, a fire on board a passenger plane flying from Cheongju to Jeju forced all passengers to evacuate and delayed operations by more than 5 hours. In September, a fire believed to have been caused by a power bank igniting before takeoff also broke out inside an Air Seoul aircraft preparing to head from Incheon International Airport to Da Nang. Including that case, four related incidents were officially confirmed at major airports in the span of a month.