Dramatic moment KLM flight attendant extinguished fire 'caused by lithium ion battery in passenger's hand luggage' on flight from Amsterdam to Bangkok

• A spokesman for KLM said the cause of the fire is under investigation
• One of the passengers claimed it was caused by a lithium ion battery 
• Small fire was detected as the plane taxied to its gate at a Bangkok airport
• KLM said there were no injuries and everyone disembarked safely

 

Passengers experienced tense moments on board a KLM flight today after a small fire erupted inside an overhead compartment for hand luggage.

 

A spokesman for the Dutch airline said the cause of the fire is under investigation, but a passenger claims it was sparked by a lithium ion battery inside a traveller's bag.

 

Flight attendants used an on-board fire extinguisher to put out the blaze which occurred moments after the plane landed in Bangkok at 10:40am local time.

 

The KLM spokesman said the Boeing 777, carrying 321 passengers plus employees, was taxiing to its gate at Suvarnabhumi Bangkok International Airport after flying in from Amsterdam.

He told MailOnline Travel: ‘There was a short fire on board in one of the overhead luggage compartments for hand luggage and our crew made sure that the fire was put out.

 

One of the passengers on flight KL875 recorded video as a flight attendant used a fire extinguisher to spray a smouldering bag as it sat on a seat in business class.

 

A photo snapped moments earlier shows the crew spraying the bag while it was on fire in the overhead luggage bin

 

The passenger posted the video and photo on her Twitter account, @Accone, and wrote: ‘Well done @KLM for calm management of cabin fire on flight KL875 caused by a battery in a passenger’s carry-on luggage’.

She added in a second tweet: ‘Take Lithium ion batteries in carry on! One caused a fire on our flight. It was immediately detected & extinguished; difficult in cargo.’

 

   The KLM crew is being hailed for extinguishing the fire and preventing injury to passengers and employees.

The spokesman for the Dutch airline said the plane will be inspected and any necessary repairs will be completed before it returns to service.

KLM’s policy on lithium ion batteries mirrors that of other carriers around the world.

Loose lithium ion batteries may only be carried in hand baggage, and each spare battery must be stored in the original packaging, or the battery contact points must be covered with tape to insulate them and packed in separate plastic bags.

 

It permits the transport of object that are powered by lithium batteries, including mobile phones, laptop computers and tablet computers. 

 

Last week Boeing and other aircraft makers urged a ban on bulk lithium battery shipments on passenger planes, saying the threat of fires is ‘an unacceptable risk’.

An industry group warned that current fire suppression systems on planes cannot extinguish a blaze involving bulk shipments of lithium ion or lithium metal batteries.