A Lufthansa flight LH1170 from Frankfurt to Lisbon made an emergency landing in Lyon after a passenger's portable battery - a power bank - caught fire in the area around the seat. There were 198 passengers and six crew members on board. There were no reports of injuries.
The plane took off from Frankfurt at 20:47 local time on September 26. Over Switzerland, the plane began to lose altitude earlier than planned, and the pilots declared an emergency in order to gain landing priority. The Airbus A321-200, registration D-AISB, landed in Lyon at 21:55 local time, which corresponds to 22:55 Bulgarian time.
“On September 26, on flight LH1170 from Frankfurt to Lisbon, a passenger's power bank caught fire in the area around a seat“, a Lufthansa spokeswoman told RTL. According to her, the cabin crew immediately placed the device in a special bag for the safe storage of lithium batteries.
“For security reasons, the cabin crew decided to land in Lyon and declared an emergency in order to receive priority“, the spokeswoman added.
After landing, all passengers were accommodated in hotels and transferred to alternative flights on September 27 to continue their journey to Lisbon. Lufthansa said it regretted the disruption, but the safety of passengers and crew was its top priority.
New rules for portable batteries
The incident comes amid Lufthansa's tightened rules for portable batteries. From January 15, 2026, power banks cannot be used to charge other devices during a flight, and they themselves cannot be charged on board.
Each passenger can carry a maximum of two power banks in their hand luggage. They must not be placed in the overhead bins, and devices with a capacity of more than 100 watt-hours must be declared to the airline in advance.
Sources: RTL, T-Online