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When he couldn’t find his cell phone, he returned to the departure point in two hours and said, “If pressure is applied between the seats, fire is dangerous.”
There was a commotion in France when passengers on the plane could not find their cell phones. The measure was taken in consideration of passenger safety amid growing alarm over the overheated fire of in-flight batteries around the world.
According to the Washington Post (WP) on the 28th (local time), Air France’s Boeing 777 aircraft, which departed Paris-Orley Airport on the 21st for Guadeloupe, a French aircraft in the Caribbean Sea, turned around and returned to its starting point after takeoff when passengers lost their phones and could not find them.
The plane, which had just turned away from the French coast and returned to Paris, landed again at Orly Airport about two hours after takeoff. At that time, the plane had 375 passengers and 12 crew members on board.
After searching through the plane that returned to the airport, employees were able to find the phone in question, and the plane headed back toward its destination, Air France said.
However, it did not reveal exactly where the mobile phone in question was lost and where it was found. Air France expressed regret over the incident, but stressed that “the safety of customers and crew members is our airline’s top priority.”
The plane arrived at its destination, Guadeloupe, about four hours later than scheduled, the WP said. He then pointed out that Air France’s decision to return is a good example of the recent growing alarm in the aviation industry over lithium battery fires mounted on mobile phones and auxiliary batteries.
In France, an Air France flight from Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport also returned to its departure point in February to retrieve the cell phones of passengers who fell between the seats.
Hassan Shahidi, head of the U.S. Aviation Safety Foundation (FSF), pointed out that it is not common to lose a cell phone on board, but it can be dangerous if pressure is applied while the cell phone is sandwiched between seats.
“If pressure is applied to the mobile phone while left in the seat, it is actually very dangerous,” he said, adding that Air France’s actions were appropriate.
