Discover >> The Popular Device That Must Be Packed Carefully During Flight To Prevent Explosion

Holidaymakers have been warned that one common item, often kept in their pockets, could pose a fire risk on planes if not handled with care.

Vapes, also known as e-cigarettes, are used by around 82million people worldwide, and so are taken on millions of flights.

But many fliers may be unaware of the danger they pose – and the rules and regulations surrounding their use and transportation during plane journeys.

The fire risk from vapes comes from their lithium batteries. They are used to heat the coil component of the device that heats the e-liquid, with the process creating vapour that users breathe in.

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) explains: ‘Lithium batteries are very safe, but because of their high energy, if they are not treated with care or if they are abused or have a manufacturing fault, they can catch fire or explode.

‘Batteries have been the cause of a number of fires on board aircraft and during ground handling.’

In 2016 a bag caught fire as it was loaded onto an aeroplane. It was revealed to have been set alight by a vape battery.

And in 2019, a passenger’s e-cigarette battery overheated and exploded, causing a fire to break out on an American Airlines flight.

The risk of an incendiary incident means vapes should be transported in the cabin and not checked in to the hold, where a fire is far more difficult to deal with.

The CAA adds that passengers may travel with ‘battery-powered electronic smoking devices (e-cigarettes, e-cigs, e-cigars, e-pipes, personal vaporizers, electronic nicotine delivery systems) but that the ‘content of Lithium metal batteries must not exceed two grams’ and that lithium batteries must not exceed a Watt hour rating of 100 Wh.