WATCH: Lithium battery catches fire on flight, forcing emergency landing

Chante Ho Hip

Chante Ho Hip

20 October 2025 | 11:10

Air China says the lithium battery in the passenger’s carry-on, stored in the overhead compartment, ‘spontaneously ignited’.

WATCH: Lithium battery catches fire on flight, forcing emergency landing

Photo: X/aviationbrk (screenshot)

An Air China flight was forced to make an emergency landing on Saturday (18 October) after a lithium battery in a passenger’s carry-on caught fire. 

The blaze broke out aboard flight CA139, which departed Hangzhou, China, at 9:47 am local time for Incheon, South Korea, with 160 passengers and crew onboard. 

The flight was diverted to Shanghai’s Pudong airport, and no injuries were reported, says Primedia Digital Content Editor Barbara Friedman. 

She adds, “The video is really quite frightening… [these batteries] are in everything.”

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