An IndiGo flight from Delhi to Chennai was diverted to Hyderabad as an urgent measure after a power bank kept in the overhead luggage compartment caught fire, triggering panic. The cabin crew of flight 6E 6115 used a fire extinguisher to douse the fire, and the aircraft landed safely in Hyderabad, but this has again brought into focus the risks associated with carrying such gadgets.
Carrying them requires approval from IndiGo at the check-in counter. Two fire extinguishers were used to control the fire, and all passengers were evacuated safely and escorted to the terminal. Under the policy, IndiGo may allow a passenger to carry a maximum of two spare lithium-ion batteries, including power banks, rated up to 100 watt-hours (Wh), subject to security clearance at the airport. A standard 100 Wh battery works out to roughly 27,000 milliampere-hours (mAh). It was not clear what the capacity of the power bank in this case was, though consumer-grade ones are usually 10,000 to 20,000. The Sunday incident comes months after another IndiGo flight was evacuated on landing in Chandigarh on March 5, 2026, after a passenger’s power bank caught fire.
Batteries rated above 100 Wh and up to 160 Wh are also allowed, again to a maximum of two, “only if such are used for portable medical devices”. DGCA said the power bank had been kept in a seat pocket at the time.
