146 slide off easyJet flight after powerbank fire at Milan airport

Holidaymakers bound for Prague were forced to slide down emergency chutes on Thursday, September 10, after a lithium powerbank overheated in an overhead locker on an easyJet Airbus A320 at Milan Malpensa.

Cabin crew spotted smoke while flight U23905 was still taxiing. Pilots needed to abandoned take-off, stop beside the airport fire station and order everyone off. All 146 people left via inflatable chutes. Two passengers picked up minor bruises on the way down. Firefighters and ambulances met the aircraft. Nearby planes were emptied as a precaution, and both runways were paused for about an hour.

@easyJet flight U23905 from Milan to Prague (A320 OE IVS, 146 pax) was evacuated via slides on the taxiway at Malpensa after a passenger’s power bank overheated and started smoking. 2 passengers suffered minor injuries. Comes a month after easyJet tightened powerbank rules… pic.twitter.com/LkT5g70VHg

— Avgeek Jan (@Avgeek_Jan) September 12, 2026

Italy’s accident agency ANSV is looking at a portable charger packed in a trolley in the overhead bin. Investigators say the lithium cells appear to have gone into thermal runaway and set the bag alight. Smoke, not a roaring cabin blaze, triggered the full evacuation. Operations restarted on one runway around 6.30pm, with the second following once the jet was towed away. A replacement service later reached Prague.

Why easyJet will not let you plug in mid-air

EasyJet already bars passengers from using powerbanks to charge phones on board. Chargers must travel in cabin bags only, and the airline prefers them kept on the person so crew can grab a failing unit fast. That policy matches EWN’s earlier briefing on Spain flight charger rules and the May diversion after a charger was left in hold luggage on an easyJet service into Rome. Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority also warned this summer that badly packed vapes and powerbanks were holding up departures.

Same kit, different airports

This is not a one-off. South Korea’s Air Busan lost an A321 on the ground in January 2025 after a powerbank fire in an overhead locker. Virgin Australia crews fought flames on descent into Hobart in July 2025. Air China diverted in October 2025 when a battery ignited in a bin. A United 767 diverted into Heathrow in May 2026 after a cabin charger fire. A Swiss flight to New York diverted to Maine after a headphone case with a battery overheated. Emirates has already banned in-flight use.

Other powerbank incidents

• Air Busan, Gimhae, January 2025: overhead locker fire destroyed the aircraft
• Hong Kong Airlines, March 2025: thermal runaway, diversion
• Virgin Australia to Hobart, July 2025: locker fire on descent
• Air China, October 2025: battery fire in a bin, diversion
• United Zurich–Newark, May 2026: cabin fire, Heathrow diversion
• easyJet Hurghada–Luton, May 2026: charger in the hold, Rome diversion
• Swiss Zurich–New York, July 2026: headphone case smoke, Bangor diversion

Should powerbanks be banned from commercial flights altogether? Tell us what you think.