Malpensa: fire breaks out on a plane; airport closed for an hour

Malpensa Airport was temporarily closed due to a fire breaking out on an EasyJet flight that was due to depart for Prague at 5.31 with 146 passengers on board, whilst it was taxiing along a taxiway at the airport.

All emergency procedures were immediately put into action: passengers were evacuated via the emergency slides. Everyone is unharmed except for two, who sustained minor injuries during the evacuation. As a result of the safety procedures being activated, airport operations were temporarily suspended.

The incident is believed to have been caused by a power bank in a passenger’s hand luggage. Airport operations resumed as normal at around 6.30 pm on a single runway.