Overview
- A KLM Boeing 777-300 on flight KL735 from Amsterdam to Curaçao returned to Schiphol after a passenger’s powerbank overheated and caught fire while cruising at about 30,000 feet on Thursday, September 17.
- Crew members quickly extinguished the small blaze, no one was injured, and all 322 passengers were housed overnight by KLM and rebooked onto another aircraft the next morning.
- KLM says it is probing whether the powerbank was in use or being charged, and the airline’s rules require powerbanks to be carried in the cabin, limit passengers to two units, and forbid charging or stowing them in overhead bins.
- Dutch media have identified the reported owner as former KLM CEO Camiel Eurlings, but KLM declined to confirm passenger identities for privacy reasons and said it will not levy fines in this case.
- The episode highlights that lithium‑ion powerbanks can overheat and ignite and follows standard safety practice of extinguishing and diverting; the aircraft remains on the ground while KLM assesses any damage and reviews the events.