Swiss flight diverted due to power bank smoke

This is the second incident of this kind within two weeks at Swiss. Just recently, an aircraft en route to New York diverted to Bangor in the US state of Maine, also due to smoke from an electronic device. Both incidents thus share the same cause: lithium batteries carried and used in the passenger cabin.

Already the second incident within a few weeks

The Lufthansa Group, to which Swiss belongs, had already banned power banks and other lithium batteries from carry-on luggage on a larger scale at the beginning of the year, allowing them to be carried only in checked baggage. Travelers have evidently not yet fully internalized the ban, as the latest incidents show.

The incidents hit Swiss at an already strained moment: the airline is under public scrutiny over delays and operational problems. Two safety events within a short period of time increase the pressure to explain itself to passengers and regulators.

Airlines worldwide have tightened the rules for lithium batteries in recent years after repeated in-flight fires caused by overheating batteries. The International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO and the European aviation authority EASA have repeatedly pointed to the risk posed by damaged or substandard batteries.

Background: risks of lithium batteries in aviation

Swiss announced that it would investigate the incident together with the responsible authorities in Ireland and Switzerland. The aircraft would be technically inspected before returning to scheduled service. Passengers had been rebooked to Dublin and onward to Boston.

The airline also called on travelers once again to switch on and charge electronic devices with lithium batteries only where this is permitted, and to stow power banks exclusively in checked baggage – and not in carry-on luggage or in seat pockets.

Reaction from the airline and authorities

It remains unclear whether the Irish accident investigation authority AAIU or the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (BAZL) will open a formal investigation. Both bodies are usually involved when a foreign aircraft performs an emergency landing on their territory.

The Swiss supervisory authority had already announced a review after the Bangor incident. With the second incident within two weeks, pressure is growing to enforce compliance with the power bank ban on board more consistently – for example through more targeted in-flight announcements and checks during boarding.