American Airlines laptop fire could prompt changes to plane safety and insurance

On August 21, 2026, an American Airlines Airbus A321-200 carrying 133 people was on approach to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport when the pilots informed air traffic control that a fire had broken out in the plane’s cabin and requested a priority landing. As soon as Flight 2398 landed, the runway was closed and a medical response was sent to the plane. It quickly became apparent that a laptop fire had broken out and several passengers had been burned while handling the device. This was the second such incident for American Airlines in 2026. Earlier in the year, American Airlines Flight 2045 was boarding when a laptop fire broke out, prompting a complete evacuation of the plane via emergency slides. Lithium-ion batteries inside laptops are causing fires and, if current trends continue, could drive up insurance costs, lead to device bans or force changes to safety standards.

Lithium-ion battery fires have become commonplace on airlines around the world and in the United States, ultimately prompting the TSA to introduce restrictions on batteries for carry-on luggage. Power banks, batteries, e-cigarettes and cell phones have all been the cause of fires on airplanes and have already prompted the entire industry to change crew training and fire mitigation procedures. Lithium-ion battery fire is an ever-present risk that airlines face, and it could soon begin to drive up airline insurance costs. Airlines are now required not only to report such incidents to insurers, but also to demonstrate that their crews are sufficiently trained and equipped to deal with battery fires. Insurance costs are already putting significant pressure on airlines’ bottom lines, and further increases due to this issue can erode profits for airlines already struggling to survive in a highly competitive market.

Lithium-ion battery fires inside devices occur when a process called thermal runaway begins, which can be caused by excessive use, aging, or physical damage. This is why external batteries keep catching fire on airplanes. Aging batteries could begin to swell due to an ongoing chemical reaction that does not complete as the battery ages, an imperfect reaction sometimes generating gases that could expand and cause the battery to swell and heat up. Since most lithium-ion batteries in consumer electronics are designed in roll form, the layers of metal and chemicals are separated by plastic, which, if damaged or degraded, can cause chemical reactions resulting in heating. This can eventually lead to thermal runaway, which is a chain reaction of heat and fire caused by the continued damage to the battery from the fire itself, leading to increased heating.

The gases that emanate from these reactions generally consist of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, which in a closed environment such as in an airplane can cause serious health problems. As a result, passengers are not allowed to take certain electronic devices in their carry-on baggage, and while the restrictions are sometimes an inconvenience, they allow passengers and cabin crew to quickly detect and deal with thermal fires in carry-on baggage, before they get out of control.

Because these incidents occur so often, airlines have begun equipping cabin crew with fire containment bags, in which a combustion device can be sealed and contained to mitigate damage to the aircraft or injury to passengers. Interestingly, the Federal Aviation Administration does not have standards or certifications for testing containment bags, in part because of concerns about moving a burning device in a containment bag, which can also cause injury.

Besides the fact that thermal runaways inside lithium-ion batteries can lead to higher insurance rates, there are other direct costs that airlines must absorb when these events occur. While the Dallas American Airlines example occurred while the plane was already on approach to its destination airport, other battery fires have forced outright diversions in the past. Depending on the size of the plane and how passengers need to be handled if they get stranded at another destination, a diversion can cost an airline anywhere from $10,000 to $200,000.

If a thermal runaway incident occurs on the ground, crews are likely to initiate an emergency evacuation procedure from the aircraft, which involves the deployment of emergency evacuation slides. Repacking emergency slides after such a deployment can also cost up to $200,000. Given that 93 smoke or battery fire incidents occurred in the United States in 2025, airlines could have paid up to $18 million in 2025 alone.