BATTERY-POWERED DEVICES ARE OVERHEATING MORE OFTEN ON PLANES AND RAISING ALARM

Devices powered by lithium-ion batteries are overheating more often during airline flights and passengers often put them in checked bags that go into the cargo hold, where a fire might not be detected as quickly.

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Overheating incidents rose 28% from 2019 to 2023, although such events remain relatively rare, UL Standards & Engagement said in a report released this week.

E-cigarettes overheated more often than any other device, according to the report.

In 60% of the cases, the overheating — called thermal runaway — happened near the seat of the passenger who brought the device on board.

In July, a smoking laptop in a passenger’s bag led to the evacuation of a plane awaiting takeoff at San Francisco International Airport. Last year, a flight from Dallas to Orlando, Florida, made an emergency landing in Jacksonville, Florida, after a battery caught fire in an overhead bin.