CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- No one was injured Monday morning when a battery inside a passenger's bag started smoking on board a Southwest Airlines flight at Midway International Airport.
The flight was boarding for departure to Austin, Texas at about 10:10 a.m. when a passenger's backpack began smoking inside an overhead compartment bin, according to the airline and fire officials.
Flight attendants found the backpack and placed it inside a fire-resistant bag, which contained the smoking bag, Southwest Airlines said in a statement.
The cause of the smoke was a "battery or charging system" inside the bag, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt.
"It was smoking; it wasn't necessarily on fire," he said.
Chicago police said the department's bomb and arson team responded to the aircraft. Officials with both city departments said no one needed medical treatment.
Passengers were moved back to the gate to be boarded onto another airplane, the airline said.
The Chicago Department of Aviation confirmed the incident, but declined to comment further.
Southwest Airlines released a full statement reading, "We're grateful for the swift and safety-minded support by Chicago's first responders to our Employees and Customers this morning at a gate at Midway Airport.
"We have no reported injuries or requests for medical attention after Flight 285 to Austin was in the process of being boarded for departure, when smoke began visibly showing around a Customer's backpack onboard the aircraft.
"Following our protocol, Flight Attendants placed the backpack in a fire-resistant bag that's stocked onboard our aircraft. The Crew asked our Customers to come off the airplane and move into the gate holding room.
"The flight will continue using a different aircraft and we thank our Customers for their patience as we place nothing higher in importance than ultimate safety."
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire & Chicago Sun-Times 2019. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
