Gatwick flight in mid-air emergency as fire breaks out on board

"The TAP Air Portugal flight, which had departed Gatwick for Porto on Sunday morning, made a rapid U-turn minutes after takeoff on February 8 and landed safely about 10 minutes later. It's understood that the flight crew reported a fire in the galley while the aircraft was climbing to about 4,300 feet, prompting the subsequent emergency landing. According to AirLive, the aircraft was met by emergency teams on the ground and diverted to a remote part of the airport for a technical assessment."

"The flight eventually took off again at 12.20pm and was able to make it safely to Portugal several hours after its scheduled arrival time. It is not yet clear what caused the fire. In recent months, there has been a global clampdown on the use of power banks on airlines due to increased risk of fire linked to lithium-ion batteries."

"In January of this year, Lufthansa became the first European airline to ban the use of power banks on flights due to safety concerns. Other airlines, such as Qantas and Virgin Australia, have similarly implemented stricter rules on powerbank use in recent months due to fire risk concerns. Among the biggest grievances facing Gatwick passengers are the bottlenecks and delays that sometimes occur. Despite being London's second-busiest airport, it currently has only one runway."

TAP Air Portugal flight departed Gatwick for Porto and made a rapid U-turn minutes after takeoff on February 8, landing safely about ten minutes later. The crew reported a fire in the galley while climbing to about 4,300 feet, prompting an emergency landing. Emergency teams met the aircraft and it was diverted to a remote part of the airport for technical assessment. The flight departed again at 12.20pm and arrived in Portugal several hours late. The cause of the fire is unclear. Airlines have tightened rules on power banks amid lithium-ion battery fire concerns, with Lufthansa, Qantas and Virgin Australia enforcing stricter measures. Gatwick operates with only one runway and faces bottlenecks and delays.

Read at www.standard.co.uk