“Smoke inside the pouch”... 168 evacuated after fire aboard plane about to depart from Cheongju Airport

[Financial News] A passenger’s power bank caught fire aboard a plane preparing for takeoff at Cheongju International Airport in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, prompting all passengers on board to evacuate in an emergency.
According to Korea Airports Corporation and aviation industry sources, a fire broke out aboard Jeju Air flight 7C227 at around 7:30 p.m. on the 10th. The flight was scheduled to depart Cheongju Airport for Jeju that evening.
The aircraft had finished boarding and was waiting to move to the runway when a passenger’s power bank, inside a pouch, suddenly began emitting smoke and sparks while the passenger was seated.
When the fire broke out, a nearby passenger immediately covered the battery with their clothing, bringing the flames under control. A cabin crew member then quickly placed the device in a special pouch designed to extinguish lithium battery fires and put out the fire. The prompt response by the passengers and crew quickly extinguished the flames, but smoke spread through the cabin during the firefighting, and all 168 passengers on board evacuated the aircraft.
No one was seriously injured in the fire, but the passenger holding the power bank that caught fire reportedly suffered minor burns to their hand.
Jeju Air is carrying out ventilation work to clear the smoke remaining in the cabin while carefully checking whether the aircraft can operate normally. The airline is also reportedly considering deploying a replacement flight in case inspections and delays take longer.


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