Smoking powerbank forces SWISS Boston flight to land in Dublin

Power bank causes smoke on board; Swiss flight forced to make an unscheduled stop in Dublin Keystone-SDA

A Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) aircraft flying from Zurich to Boston was forced to make an unscheduled landing in the Irish capital, Dublin, on Sunday night. The unexpected stop was caused by smoke on board, which was triggered by a powerbank.

Once they realised what was happening, the crew of flight LX52, which took off from Zurich Airport at 6:11pm, immediately requested authorisation for a priority landing, the airline told the Swiss News Agency Keystone-ATS. The incident was initially reported on the Blick website.

The aircraft, carrying 206 passengers, touched down safely in Dublin at 3:07am on Monday morning. The passengers spent the night in a hotel. Experts will carry out a thorough inspection of the aircraft before it returns to Zurich, the airline said.

Back in late July, a SWISS flight from Zurich to New York had to make an unscheduled stop in Bangor, Maine, due to a similar incident. On that occasion, it was a headphone case that had become lodged in a seat and was emitting smoke.

The Lufthansa subsidiary took the opportunity to remind passengers of the current regulations regarding electronic devices with lithium batteries. Among other things, it emphasised that the use of powerbanks has been prohibited since the start of this year.

Passengers may carry a maximum of two of these portable batteries, but they are not permitted to charge them on board. They must be kept on the passenger’s person, in the seat pocket or in hand luggage stored under the seat. It is, however, prohibited to carry them in the hold or in the overhead locker.

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Translated from Italian, reviewed by an English Department journalist.