A Delta Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Fort Myers, Florida, on Monday after a portable battery belonging to a passenger caught fire, the airline said.
Delta flight 1334 from Atlanta was heading to Fort Lauderdale International Airport when a fire broke out, according to a Delta spokesperson. Flight attendants quickly extinguished the flames coming from what is believed to be a personal battery, the airlines said in a statement to CBS News.
There was residual smoke in the aircraft and the situation was declared an emergency out of an abundance of caution, Delta said. The plane was then diverted to Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers as is procedure.
“We appreciate the quick work and actions by our people to follow their training, and we apologize to our customers for the delay in their travels,” Delta Airlines’ statement said.
A spokesperson for the Fort Myers airport, located about a 2-hour drive from Fort Lauderdale, said the flight with 185 customers and six crew members on board landed safely at 8:48 a.m. local time.
So far this year, there have been a total of 34 incidents involving lithium batteries – 11 of which were due to battery packs, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
From 2015 to 2024, the number of lithium battery fires on U.S. flights rose 388%, the FAA’s data show.
Due to growing concerns of lithium-ion battery fires, Southwest Airlines introduced what it said was a “first-in-industry” policy in May requiring customers to keep their portable chargers in plain sight.
Earlier this year, Singapore Airlines completely banned power banks from being used or charged in-flight.
Jared Ochacher
contributed to this report.
