A fire broke out inside a baggage container at Milan Malpensa International Airport on Sunday afternoon, moments before the container was due to be loaded into the cargo hold of a British Airways Airbus A321neo. According to Paddle Your Own Kanoo, which first reported the incident, a lithium battery is suspected of having started the blaze, although the cause has not been confirmed.
The aircraft involved was a British Airways Airbus A321neo registered G-NEOT, powered by two CFM International LEAP-1A32 engines and operating flight BA585 from Milan Malpensa to London Heathrow.
The fire was filmed from the terminal building by former BBC politics journalist Jon Sopel, who was waiting to board the flight. His footage shows thick black smoke pouring from the top of the container while orange flames flicker around its outside. Ground workers moved the surrounding containers clear to stop the fire spreading, and airport fire crews reached the gate and began dousing the container with water shortly afterwards.
Writing on X, Sopel said: “Suspect this might delay BA585 out of Milan Malpensa. Glad I didn’t check any bags.” In a follow-up post he added: “Video of fire on baggage container with luggage to be loaded onto BA585 just now at Milan Malpensa. Smart move to get the other containers out of the way before fire spread. If cause was lithium battery, glad fire was there and not on plane.”
The flight eventually departed for Heathrow later on Sunday, with a delay of nearly two and a half hours.
In a statement, a British Airways spokesperson said: “We’re aware of a small number of checked bags that were damaged by fire while on the ground at Milan Malpensa Airport. The incident was quickly dealt with, and there were no injuries or impact to any flights.” The airline added: “We’ve been in contact with the small number of customers whose bags are affected to apologise and provide support. We are working closely with our partners, and an investigation is underway to establish the cause.”
Why lithium batteries in the hold worry airlines
Passengers have long been prohibited from packing power banks and other loose lithium batteries in checked luggage, precisely because a fire that starts in the hold is far harder to detect and fight than one in the cabin. The message does not always reach every traveller, and ground incidents like this one are a reminder of how the rule is meant to work: a container fire on the apron can be surrounded by fire crews within minutes, while the same event at cruise altitude offers no such option.
The industry’s reference point remains the 2025 Air Busan fire, in which an Airbus A321 was destroyed after a power bank ignited in an overhead bin. That accident pushed a wave of carriers, British Airways among them, to tighten their rules earlier this year. The current British Airways policy bars customers from stowing power banks in the overhead lockers, keeping them instead where crew and passengers can see and reach them.
Fire-resistant cargo containers are designed to buy time rather than to guarantee containment, and a lithium battery fire — which generates its own oxygen once thermal runaway begins — does not always stay inside one.
What happens next
British Airways says an investigation is underway with its ground handling partners to establish the cause. Until that work is complete, the suspicion of a lithium battery remains exactly that: a suspicion, consistent with the way the fire behaved but not yet confirmed by anyone involved.
For the small number of passengers whose bags were destroyed, the airline says it has already made contact to apologise and arrange support.
Sources: PaddleYourOwnKanoo. Featured image: AI-generated by AviationShop. By James Holloway.
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