Phone backup battery combusts at HCMC airport

At around 11:55 p.m., security personnel at the airport requested a passenger to leave behind his backup battery, as the item is not allowed to be stored inside the hold luggage. The battery then combusted.

Security extinguished the flames after around five minutes, and it took nearly an hour to clean up the scene. The incident did not cause any major disruption to the airport’s activities.

A representative of the airport said the origin of the backup battery in question was unclear. Backup batteries, per aviation regulations, are allowed to be brought onto planes as carry-on luggage, but not hold luggage due to their potential for fire and explosion.

At the point when the airport detected the presence of the battery, security personnel asked the passenger to take it out of his luggage. As the battery was of low value, the passenger left it behind at the airport, without informing security.

“For items which cannot be carried with a person, passengers should inform and hand over the item to airport security,” the representative said.

Backup batteries are flammable and combustible items, especially low-quality ones.

They are widely available in Vietnam, for prices as cheap as from several dozens of dong apiece. (VND25,000 = US$1)