WE ALL know vaping can kill, but a planeload of passengers, many of whom probably don't even partake in the habit, came close to finding that out the hard way earlier this week.
An Easyjet flight from the Greek island of Heraklion to London Gatwick was forced to evacuate just prior to take-off after a vape pen exploded inside one passenger's bag.
While taxiing to the runway, a female passenger was seen running down the aisle toward the back of the aircraft carrying her bag, which by this point was alight and pouring with smoke.
One passenger reported hearing a "fizzing noise" before a loud bang just prior to the passenger's mad dash, with her bag also containing a portable power bank charging her vape.
The flight crew went straight into protocol and deployed the emergency slide, where ground crew were waiting to assist passengers to disembark.
While the bag was dealt with by airport fire crews, passengers were transported back to the terminal and looked after while Easyjet radioed for another aircraft and crew to complete the flight back to the UK, which took off safely later that day.
Beforehand, passengers were allowed back onto the original aircraft once the situation had been stabilised, with many observing the scorch mark where the incident occurred.
In Europe, travellers are allowed to take vapes onboard flights but aren't allowed to recharge them in an aircraft.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 26 Sep 24
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