A Lufthansa flight en route from California to Germany was diverted to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport after a laptop battery fire occurred, according to a report.
According to NBC 5 Chicago, officials said the fire was extinguished in flight, and two flight attendants were treated for smoke inhalation, although no passengers were reportedly injured.
Video posted to social media showed flight attendants opening an overhead compartment and being greeted by plumes of smoke. These fires are known to emit toxic gases, including fluoride gas emissions, per information from the National Institutes of Health.
The report also added that a JetBlue flight was evacuated over the weekend at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City after a passenger’s cellphone caught fire.
Fire officials have sounded the alarm about the dangers posed by this lithium-ion battery fires both in the residential environment and during transport. In New York City, there were more than 200 fires traced to lithium-ion batteries in 2022, many related to thermal runaway in e-bikes and scooters, including a high-rise fire that left 40 people injured in November.
