An Air France flight was forced to make a U-turn to Paris mid-air after a missing phone sparked safety concerns in the cabin.
Flight AF750 from Paris Orly to Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe, was over an hour into the almost nine-hour journey when a passenger reported a lost mobile phone on Friday (21 March).
According to an AirLive report, the Air France flight departed Paris at 11.51am CET before turning around and starting to circle at 31,000ft over the west coast of France.
The crew decided to return the aircraft to Paris Orly as a “precautionary measure” after a passenger's mobile phone could not be located despite extensive search efforts, said the outlet.
The Boeing 777-300ER, with 375 passengers and 12 cabin crew onboard, safely landed back in the French capital at 3.25pm, two hours and 16 minutes after it had taken off.
Maintenance teams were reportedly deployed to locate the missing phone, and the aircraft departed for Guadeloupe just 20 minutes later.
The airline has not yet confirmed why the lost device prompted an emergency return to Paris however, reports state the diversion was due to the dangers associated with lithium-ion batteries.
Lithium-ion batteries commonly found in smartphones and power banks pose a fire risk to aircraft and confined cabin spaces if they are damaged or overheated.
For this reason, you cannot typically check power banks in your luggage due to safety concerns – these must be carried in cabin baggage only.
The Independent has contacted Air France for comment.
This month, South Korea tightened rules on carrying lithium batteries on planes.
Passengers on South Korean airlines will now have to keep power banks and e-cigarettes on their person and not in overhead cabin bins.
Devices should also not be charged on board, with battery quantity and strength limits enforced on batteries over 160 watt-hours.
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