dailynewsnblog
Over the weekend, a power bank fire on board an Airbus A321-200 operated by German flag carrier and Star Alliance founding member 
Lufthansa forced the narrowbody twinjet to divert to Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport (LYS) in the southeast of France. The jet was on its way from Frankfurt Airport (FRA) in Germany to Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (LIS) in Portugal at the time of the alarming incident.
After landing in France late on Saturday night, passengers and crew on board the flight faced an unplanned overnight stay in Lyon. Thereafter, the aircraft involved in the incident returned to Frankfurt the next day, with its passengers completing their journey to Lisbon after being rebooked on other flights. Power bank fires have become a big issue in modern aviation, with Lufthansa banning their use.
An Unplanned French Stopover
Lufthansa flight LH1170 is a regularly scheduled international commercial passenger service that operates on a daily basis from Frankfurt to Lisbon. According to Flightradar24, its departure time is scheduled for between 7:40 PM and 8:00 PM depending on the exact day, with Saturday’s rotation due to take off at 7:40 PM. On September 26, it did so rather late, at 8:57 PM, but soon faced further delays.
Indeed, per the Aviation Herald, the flight had to divert to Lyon due to a power bank fire in a seat, which occurred after a guest’s device overheated. Flight tracking data shows that the flight, which was operated by a 27-year-old Airbus A321-200 with the registration D-AISB, touched down at 9:55 PM local time. A Lufthansa spokesperson told RTL that the device had been secured in a lithium-safe bag, adding:
“For safety reasons, the cockpit crew decided to make an alternative landing in Lyon and declared an air emergency in order to receive a priority landing.”
Passengers Were Rebooked The Following Day
Given the flight’s late arrival in Lyon, Lufthansa opted not to continue the journey to Lisbon that evening, but, rather, to accommodate the 198 passengers and six members of crew in hotels overnight. The next day, D-AISB then repositioned back to 
Frankfurt Airport as LH9923, presumably taking the crew members with it. It left Lyon at 1:49 PM on Sunday, subsequently touching down at 2:43 PM.
Its only other flight yesterday was an evening service from Frankfurt to Nuremberg (NUE), with the return leg operating this morning. Later today, it is expected to operate a return flight from Frankfurt to Nice (NCE) and back, followed by a service to Athens (ATH). Meanwhile, the passengers who only made it as far as Lyon on Saturday were rebooked onto alternative flights to complete their journeys to Lisbon.
As far as nonstop options are concerned, data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, shows that there were two flights from Lyon to Lisbon operated by TAP Air Portugal yesterday, and another two operated by easyJet. These were presumably the top priority when it came to rebooking the affected passengers, although the TAP flights were only operated by Embraer regional jets from Portugalia Airlines.
Lufthansa’s Power Bank Rules
Lufthansa has very strict rules when it comes to the transportation of power banks, which it implemented earlier this year amid the rise in on-board fires and other incidents linked to the lithium-ion batteries that power these devices. According to the German flag carrier’s website, passengers may only transport power banks on Lufthansa flights if they do so with the device(s) placed in their hand luggage.
Furthermore, passengers are restricted to a maximum of two power banks per person, and their power must be no higher than 100 Wh or 2 g LC per power bank. If it exceeds this, transport approval is required. You are also not allowed to charge or use power banks in flight except for when doing so to aid the use of medical devices, and they must not be stowed in the overhead locker above the seats.
