This is the third power bank fire on an IndiGo plane in about a year. Every single time, it is because of simple rules that were ignored. Here's what we know so far. IndiGo flight 6E 6115 was on its way from Delhi to Chennai. Reports say a passenger's power bank caught fire inside the cabin, and the pilots made an emergency landing at Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Shamshabad. The airline hasn't shared full details yet, like where the power bank was kept or what set it off. The video is scary to watch; the sad part is that this is not the first time in recent memory. In October 2025, an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Dimapur had to go back to the gate while taxiing. A power bank kept in the seat-back pocket had caught fire, and the crew put it out. In May this year, it happened again on IndiGo 6E 108 from Hyderabad to Chandigarh. The plane had just landed when a power bank caught fire. Smoke filled the cabin. The crew used two fire extinguishers and opened all six emergency slides. All 198 passengers, two infants and six crew members slid out onto the tarmac. The worst one happened in South Korea. In January 2025, a power bank kept in an overhead bin on an Air Busan plane started a fire that spread and burned through almost half the aircraft. Everyone got out because it happened on the ground before takeoff. If it had happened an hour into the flight, it would have been a very different story. Around the same time, there were smoke and fire scares on Batik Air, Air China and others. In the US, the FAA logged nearly 100 battery-related incidents on flights in 2025 alone. So why does a small power bank turn into a fire? See inside a power bank is a lithium battery holding a lot of energy in a tiny space. If the battery is cheap, old, damaged, swollen, or gets crushed in an overstuffed bag, it can start heating up on its own. Once that starts, the heat makes it heat up even more, and it keeps going until it bursts into flames and thick, toxic smoke. The worst part is that it doesn't need air to keep burning the way a normal fire does. So crews are trained to cool it down and contain it, but it takes time and it's messy. On the ground, you open the doors and run. At 35,000 feet, you're stuck in the plane with 180 people until the plane can land somewhere. That's why the pilots of 6E 6115 didn't wait to reach Chennai. There are simple rules to prevent this. In January 2026, DGCA made it very clear. Power banks are allowed only in your hand baggage, never in check-in luggage. You can't use a power bank to charge your phone, tablet or anything else at any point during the flight. Don't put it in the overhead bin. The overhead bin rule is the one most people don't get. If a power bank catches fire up there, nobody sees it until smoke is pouring out, and by then it's hard to reach. If it's in your bag at your feet, you'll notice the heat or the smell early and so will the crew. This is announced on every flight and printed on the boarding pass. So why do we keep ignoring it? Honestly, most of us stopped listening to the safety announcement years ago. We've heard it so many times that we put our headphones in and scroll. Then there's the "it won't happen to me" feeling. People have charged phones on flights for years without anything going wrong, so the rule feels like extra fuss. Also, there is the genuine phone at 5% problem. You've got a cab to book when you land, a call to make, a boarding pass to show for the next leg. So you plug it in quietly under the tray table and hope nobody notices. A lot of us also carry the cheapest power bank we could find. A ₹400 one from a roadside shop or a random online seller, with no proper certification. Those are the ones most likely to fail. And nobody really checks. The crew can't open every bag or look into every seat pocket. So when one person breaks this rule, they're risking the lives of every passenger and crew member on that plane, plus the firefighters and ground staff who have to deal with it after landing. If you're flying this festive season, buy a proper branded, certified power bank and replace it if it ever looks swollen or gets hot while charging. Keep it in your bag at your seat, not in the overhead bin and not in check-in. Don't use it to charge anything once you board. Charge your phone fully at the airport before you get on. If you ever smell something burning or see smoke from a bag, tell the crew immediately, even if you're not sure. A few minutes of following boring rules is what keeps everyone on that plane safe.