On Tuesday afternoon 31 July, a Ryanair Boeing 737 was ready for take-off at Barcelona Airport -destination Ibiza Airport- when a fire started on board. The crew immediately launched the emergency procedures and evacuated the passengers via the inflatable slides.
The aircraft taxied about forty meters towards the runway when suddenly a portable battery charger that was connected to a mobile phone caught fire. Thick smoke immediately filled the cabin, causing panic among the passengers.
One passenger commented to Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia: “Luckily I was in the front of the aircraft, a nervous pilot opened the emergency exit.”
All passengers were quickly evacuated yet some of them suffered minor burns while sliding from the escape devices.
According to Flightradar24-data the aircraft or another aircraft but registered as EI-FOL took off destination Ibiza about 4 hours and 30 minutes after the original time of departure.
Ryanair confirmed the incident to Aviation24.be: “Passengers on a Barcelona-Ibiza flight (on the ground in Barcelona on Tuesday (31 July) experienced an emergency evacuation caused by a mobile phone catching fire as it was being charged by a battery pack. All passengers were safely evacuated back to the terminal and cabin crew dealt with the mobile phone. Ryanair arranged a spare aircraft to re-accommodate these passengers who departed for Ibiza later that day.”
Pictures taken from a video inside the #ryanair evacuated today at Barcelona airport by @anthcarrio check on his Instagram to watch the whole video https://t.co/r6bCCp2W83 #cabincrew #cabincrewtraining #cabincrewlife #azafata #aeromoza #tcp #flightattendant pic.twitter.com/pNo9IWdu8U
— Cabin Crew Club (@club_cabin) July 31, 2018
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2mVpdaCOJ0
Evacuado un avión de Ryanair en el aeropuerto de El Prat de Barcelona, con destino a Ibiza.
Motivo:
La batería de un dispositivo electrónico de un pasajero se incendió.El susto a estas personas no se lo quita nadie. ?pic.twitter.com/j6Jh82vwRQ
— Ramón Mateos ????? (@RamonMateos30) July 31, 2018
