Harrowing footage captures plane passengers fleeing down emergency slides after a vape exploded in a carry-on bag.
All 236 passengers were compelled to evacuate the easyJet flight from Greece to London Gatwick Airport on Tuesday after smoke unexpectedly filled the cabin just before takeoff. Panic ensued, with some passengers falsely claiming there was a “bomb,” as reported by the Independent.
Passengers on an easyJet flight from Greece to the UK were forced to evacuate using emergency slides after a vape exploded inside a carry-on bag on. pic.twitter.com/e0E3CottT4
— Storyful (@Storyful) September 20, 2024
Malachi Griffith, accompanied by his father, recounted the distressing incident.
“I could smell and see smoke coming towards us from the front of the plane,” he told Storyful.
“Then a girl ran down the aisle with a bag…with smoke [coming] out of it and then there was a cracking noise, which was the sound of the flames,” Griffith said, adding it “caused panic.”
Griffith was among those who captured fellow passengers racing to safety on the emergency slides. While no one sustained injuries from the fire, one passenger reportedly suffered friction burns from the slide.
The Airline Confirms the Vape Exploding Incident Which Resulted in an Emergency Evacuation
“EasyJet can confirm that flight EZY8216 from Heraklion to London Gatwick was evacuated during boarding prior to departure on 17 September, due to a fire in a passenger’s cabin bag,” the airline explained to the Independent in a statement.
“Fire services attended the aircraft and cabin crew evacuated the aircraft in line with procedures,” they continued. “Customers were looked after in the terminal while a replacement aircraft and crew were arranged to fly customers home later the same day. Safety is our highest priority.”
Meanwhile, vape lovers seem to think getting their fix while flying the friendly skies is no big deal.
We should be able to vape a liiiiittle bit on a plane pic.twitter.com/lTqtZAVsRE
— mere strömb (@merestromb) September 13, 2024
“The airplane bathroom is like the olympics of ghosting a vape,” one X user insisted. “I do it in my seat lol, they will never catch you if you do it right. Just never exhale vapor,” a second addict added.
Another X denizen couldn’t help but think about the good old days.
They wrote: “my sister and I are old enough to have flown when you could smoke cigarettes on planes. We laugh about this alot when she told me they make you take all your vapes in the cabin for safety and then say you can’t vape I died,” they joked.