Gimhae Airport Bag Battery Fire Extinguished by Traveller

A portable battery caught fire inside a passenger’s bag at Gimhae International Airport’s international departures counter on October 23, 2026, at approximately 7:30 p.m., while travellers waited in line for a Jinair flight to Cebu, Philippines, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Incident Details at Gimhae International Airport

The passenger was using the portable battery to charge a mobile phone inside the bag when the fire started. A nearby passenger retrieved a fire extinguisher from the area and put out the flames before airport staff arrived. A witness stated that an ordinary passenger extinguished the fire rather than airline personnel, and that the extinguisher had to be fetched from a distance because it was not immediately visible.

Jinair stated that staff followed operating procedures by notifying the airport’s general operations center, fire department, and police immediately upon recognizing the fire. Korea Airports Corporation noted that regulations require extinguishers to be placed every 20 meters throughout the facility, suggesting the person who used it may have simply been flustered during the incident.

Recent Aviation Incidents Involving Portable Batteries

This event follows a series of similar battery-related thermal incidents aboard commercial aircraft. On October 25 at 6:22 a.m., a portable battery overheated and emitted smoke on a Hong Kong Express flight from Hong Kong as it prepared to land at Jeju International Airport, resulting in a passenger sustaining burns.

Earlier in the month on October 10, a portable battery fire forced the total evacuation of a flight from Cheongju to Jeju, delaying operations by over five hours. A separate incident occurred last month when a fire broke out before takeoff on an Air Seoul flight from Incheon International Airport to Da Nang, Vietnam, prompting authorities to treat it as a battery-induced ignition.