An IndiGo flight from Delhi to Chennai was diverted to Hyderabad on Sunday, 11 October 2026, after a passenger’s power bank caught fire in an overhead baggage compartment, The Hindu and The Indian Express reported.
Quick Facts
| Flight | IndiGo 6E 6115, Delhi to Chennai |
| Aircraft | Airbus A321 |
| Departure | 1.30 pm from Delhi (scheduled to land in Chennai at 4 pm) |
| People on board | About 180 passengers and seven crew |
| Diverted to | Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad |
| Injuries | None reported |
What Happened
IndiGo said the flight “was diverted to Hyderabad after smoke was detected from a customer’s personal electronic device”. “The cabin crew responded promptly and the situation was brought under control,” the airline said. All passengers and crew were reported safe, and IndiGo arranged another aircraft to take passengers on to Chennai.
The Hindu noted that this is at least the third power bank fire on an IndiGo aircraft in nearly a year. The Indian Express reported that a similar incident occurred in May on a Chandigarh-bound flight.
What the Rules Say
Under rules from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA):
- Spare lithium-ion batteries and power banks must be carried in cabin baggage and are prohibited in checked-in luggage
- Using power banks in flight, including recharging them from the aircraft’s power supply, is barred
- Under the Aircraft (Carriage of Dangerous Goods) Rules, 2025, non-compliance can attract penalties that range up to crores depending on severity
- IndiGo’s own policy allows a maximum of two power banks per passenger, each not exceeding 160Wh, kept in hand baggage and never used on board
Why Power Banks Catch Fire
Experts quoted by The Indian Express said power banks use energy-dense lithium cells, and poorly made or counterfeit cells are vulnerable to overheating. Sagar Mitra, a professor at IIT Bombay, said manufacturing defects were the most probable cause in such incidents.
Other factors include internal short circuits, electrolyte leakage, physical damage and overcharging. Vivek Panchal of the battery maker Powertron advised keeping the state of charge near 80 per cent and not using damaged devices.
Featured image: An IndiGo Airbus A321 at Chennai airport, August 2022 (file photo; not the flight involved). Photo by This Photo was taken by Timothy A. Gonsalves. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author. I would much appreciate if you send me an email tagooty@yahoo.com or write on my talk page, for my information. Please contact me before commercial use. Please do not upload an edited image here without consulting me. I would like to make corrections only at my own source to ensure that the changes improve the image and are preserved.Otherwise you may upload an edited image with a new name. Please use one of the templates derivative or extract., licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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