An EasyJet flight certain for London was compelled to divert to Rome after a passenger advised crew they’d left a device charging from a power bank in their hold luggage, the airline advised NCS.
Flight EZY2618 departed from Hurghada, a well-liked Egyptian vacationer vacation spot on the Red Sea, on Tuesday.
FlightConscious knowledge exhibits the aircraft cruising at 10,980 meters (round 36,000 ft) till three and a half hours into the flight, when the aircraft diverts to the Italian capital, touchdown at Rome Fiumicino at 11:33 p.m.
After crew had been made conscious of the power bank charging one other device in the passenger’s luggage, “the Captain then took the decision to divert as a precaution in line with safety regulations,” EasyJet mentioned in a press release to NCS.
“The safety of its customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all manufacturers’ guidelines,” the assertion mentioned. “We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by the diversion and subsequent delay.”
Passengers got inns and meals for the night, earlier than ending their journey to London Luton Airport on Wednesday morning, EasyJet mentioned.
The International Civil Aviation Organization imposed new restrictions on power banks in March. Under the brand new guidelines, every passenger is restricted to 2 power banks and they don’t seem to be allowed to recharge them throughout flights.
Individual airways have beforehand curbed power bank utilization on flights. Singapore Airlines banned passengers from utilizing power banks to cost their gadgets in any respect throughout flights.
Southwest Airlines told NCS in May 2025 that passengers utilizing power banks must have them seen.
South Korea banned passengers from placing power banks and e-cigarettes in overhead storage on all of the nation’s airways. The ban got here after a hearth on an Air Busan aircraft that left three individuals injured in January 2025.
South Korea’s transport ministry mentioned in a press launch {that a} moveable power bank was a potential supply of the fireplace.
Lithium-ion batteries are used in frequent consumer electronics like telephones and laptops. However, the chemical substances in the battery are flammable.
If a battery is overcharged, will get too scorching or has been broken it might probably trigger a sequence response known as a thermal runaway.
There has been 563 incidents involving smoke, fireplace or excessive warmth associated to lithium-ion batteries on flights between March 2006 and February 2026, based on the Federal Aviation Administration, with battery packs accounting for 230 of these.