![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/6d9ecb063feb3ba3ecf4285d83ed48eb9b67f554.png\")
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March 15, 2026 \u2014 6:48pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n A vape that caught fire aboard a Virgin Australia aircraft forced the crew to declare an emergency before landing at Melbourne Airport on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n Flight VA328, which departed from Brisbane, issued a PAN call \u2013 an urgent radio signal \u2013 which triggered a response from emergency services in Melbourne.<\/p>\n The airport responded to the PAN call from flight VA328 after a vape activated in the plane\u2019s cabin during descent, Virgin said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a precaution and in accordance with standard procedures, emergency services were placed on standby,\u201d a spokesman for the airport said.<\/p>\n The Boeing 737 landed safely shortly after about 4.20pm. No one was injured.<\/p>\n PAN calls denote a serious situation that is just below an immediate threat to life or the aircraft.<\/p>\n Aviation Rescue firefighters followed the aircraft after it landed and removed the vape from the plane as a precaution.<\/p>\n \u201cThe safety of our guests and crew is our highest priority, and we thank our crew for their swift response in containing the device,\u201d a Virgin spokesperson said.<\/p>\n Vapes are powered by rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that can overheat, catch fire or explode if damaged, overcharged or put under temperature stress.<\/p>\n Sunday\u2019s incident comes as airlines and aviation authorities have tightened rules on the transportation of power banks because of the fire risks they pose.<\/p>\n In December, Virgin Australia began restricting the use of power banks<\/a> \u2013 the small, self-contained battery packs used to charge phones and other devices \u2013 on flights.<\/p>\n Qantas instituted a similar policy the same month.<\/p>\n Virgin began reviewing its policy on power banks in July after a flight crew had to put out a fire on a midair flight between Sydney and Hobart.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Melbourne Airport evacuated 150 people from the Qantas international business lounge in November when a man\u2019s power bank ignited in his pocket<\/a> and caught alight.<\/p>\n A series of disasters and scares<\/a> linked to lithium batteries and rechargeable power banks has raised awareness of the safety risk they pose.<\/p>\n The Civil Aviation Safety Authority estimates that on average, each passenger now carries four battery-powered devices.<\/p>\n Be the first to know when major news happens. Sign up for breaking news alerts<\/a> on email or turn on notifications in the app.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/b98b06c0c6775f51c98d9c470c6b3c5cd9b8755e.jpeg\")
A Virgin Australia Boeing 737.Bloomberg<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4f8323c720fc181d5f202a8b1cf86a5cfd513451c88e4f406da200c302c88d12.png\")
The Virgin Australia 737 that declared PAN after a vape caught fire after landing in Melbourne.X<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/7bfcdc03832a25747d18df74835b0ac06f4b8d115a78ae397c3216bde6e0cb94.png\")
The flight path of Virgin Australia\u2019s VA328 flight on Sunday.Flight24<\/p>\n![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/6d9ecb063feb3ba3ecf4285d83ed48eb9b67f554.png\")
Chris Zappone<\/a> is a senior reporter covering aviation and business. He is former digital foreign editor.Connect via X<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"March 15, 2026 \u2014 6:48pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":541913,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-541912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=541912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541912\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/541913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=541912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=541912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}