A vape explosion at a passenger’s handbag during boarding of an easyJet flight from Heraklion, Crete to London Gatwick led to the evacuation of the plane.
The incident occurred earlier this week onboard an easyJet Airbus A321neo aircraft, which was due to depart from Heraklion International Airport (HER) in Greece to London Gatwick Airport (LGW). According to reports from Aerotime, the incident occurred while the aircraft was on the ground before departure.
Reports state that eyewitnesses onboard easyJet flight U28216 saw fire and smoke emanating from the bag along with popping and exploding noises. The cause for this appears to be a possible explosion of electronic cigarettes within a passenger’s bag. The airport’s fire services team responded to the incident and arrived at the scene to investigate.
All 236 passengers were safely evacuated from the aircraft without any injuries or fatalities recorded. However, the incident did cause a bit of panic onboard, with passengers reportedly even shouting that there was a bomb onboard the aircraft.
Data from FlightRadar24.com shows that the flight was originally scheduled to depart at 13:55 from HER and arrive at 16:05 at LGW. However, due to this incident, the flight was severely delayed.
It would have taken time to safely remove the bag on board with the damaged devices, after which the aircraft would have had to be inspected to ensure there were no other issues caused by the explosion.
EasyJet confirmed the incident in a statement to Simple Flying:
“easyJet can confirm that flight EZY8216 from Heraklion to London Gatwick was evacuated during boarding prior to departure on 17 September, due to a fire in a passenger’s cabin bag. Fire services attended the aircraft and cabin crew evacuated the aircraft in line with procedures.
“Customers were looked after in the terminal while a replacement aircraft and crew were arranged to fly customers home later the same day. Safety is our highest priority.”
Vape explosion is a rare incident
Although vaper explosion incidents appear uncommon, vape fires and explosions are dangerous to the person using the vaping product and others around them, says the US Food and Drug Administration in an advisory.
There may be added dangers, for example, if a vape battery catches fire or explodes near flammable gasses or liquids, such as oxygen, propane, or gasoline.
The exact causes of vape fires or explosions are not yet clear, but some evidence suggests that battery-related issues may be a cause. The most common injury from vape explosions is severe burns, often to the face and hands. Flying debris can also cause serious eye damage. While rare, there have been instances of death resulting from vape explosions.
Factors contributing to explosions include faulty batteries, improper charging, or using incompatible batteries. Overheating can also cause batteries to short-circuit and ignite.
Related: Britain Encourages Smokers to Start Vaping
