A fire that broke out onboard a Virgin Australia plane as it prepared to land at Melbourne Airport was caused by an exploding vape.
Planes were put in a holding pattern above the airport about 4.30pm on Sunday following the fire breaking out in the cabin of flight VA328 during its landing approach.
The flight from Brisbane called off it’s landing and remained in the air while cabin crew initiated protocols and contained the device to a fireproof bag before the plane looped back for a second attempt.
A large ’emergency response’ was triggered with reports more than a dozen emergency vehicles had been deployed to the airport.
Melbourne Airport confirmed about 4.45pm that the Virgin Australia plane from Brisbane had landed safely and emergency crews met it on the tarmac.
The Boeing 737 then taxied to the gate where passengers and staff disembarked normally.
‘The safety of our guests and crew is our highest priority, and we thank our crew for their swift response in containing the device,’ a Virgin spokeswoman said.
A spokesperson for Melbourne Airport said it had responded to a ‘PAN call from Virgin Australia flight VA328 from Brisbane after reports a vape had ignited on board’.
A Virgin plane had a fire in the cabin, reportedly caused by a vape explosion
In Australia, it is legal to carry a vape in carry-on luggage but not in checked baggage.
‘When packed or carried on board you need to prevent the item from being accidentally turned on,’ Virgin Australia states online.
‘You cannot use smoking devices or recharge them on board the aircraft. You can bring vapes and e-cigarettes for your personal use only – commercial quantities are not allowed.
‘Spare batteries may be brought as part of carry-on baggage, provided the batteries are individually protected in line with our battery carriage rules.’
The news comes just months after Virgin, alongside Qantas and Jetstar, introduced new rules for power banks after one caught fire aboard a Virgin flight from Sydney to Hobart in July.
Cabin crew noticed a hissing sound coming from inside an overhead locker about 10 minutes before the flight was due to land.
The nearby area was evacuated with affected customers relocated to other seats.
Crew then spotted flames from the locker and opened it to see a backpack was on fire.
Planes were put in a holding pattern above Melbourne Airport until the plane could safely land about 4.45pm on Sunday
The flames were extinguished and firefighters later found a burnt power bank inside the bag.
New rules from December 1 banned passengers from using power banks while onboard flights.
Restrictions of the number and size of power banks passengers could carry were also introduced by the airlines.
