An easyJet flight bound for London was forced to evacuate during boarding after a vape reportedly exploded inside a passenger’s carry-on bag.
On September 17, 2024, the Airbus A321, operating flight EZY8216, was evacuated prior to departure from Heraklion, Crete to London-Gatwick Airport (LGW) “due to a fire in a passenger’s cabin bag”, a spokesperson for easyJet said in a statement after the incident.
The aircraft was scheduled to depart at 13:55 local time. However, according to a report by MailOnline, an eyewitness said: “Fire and acrid smoke billowed from the bag, popping exploding noises” and “smoke filled the cabin around the bag.”
Witnesses also said that the bag was dropped in the aisle and some passengers were “screaming bomb and clattering to get out”, the MailOnline added.
The explosion is believed to have been caused by a power bank and e-cigarettes inside a passenger’s carry-on bag. Fire services and police forces attended the scene to investigate the incident.
There were 236 passengers onboard the aircraft, and they were all quickly evacuated onto the runway using the emergency slides. There are no reports of any injuries, except for one passenger who suffered friction burns while using the emergency slide to leave the aircraft.
The flight to London took off later the same day, with all 236 passengers safely on board.