Baggage container catches fire at Milan Malpensa before London-bound British Airways flight

Fire on the tarmac

A baggage container caught fire at Milan Malpensa airport on the afternoon of Sunday, August 16, 2026, as bags were being prepared for loading onto British Airways flight BA585, bound for London Heathrow. The container, a Unit Load Device (ULD) belonging to Aviapartner, the handling company operating at the airport, burst into flames around 13:00 local time. A video circulating online showed fire and smoke emerging from the container, with two fire trucks arriving immediately to extinguish the blaze. The fire produced a dense black cloud visible from the terminal area. No injuries were reported, and airport operations continued without disruption. Some passengers witnessed the scene from the tarmac, where the burning container was positioned at the center of the apron. ANSA, however, described the cart as having just unloaded bags from passengers arriving from London, rather than bags being loaded for a departure.

Conflicting accounts of the cause

Initial reports from multiple outlets pointed to a lithium battery inside a suitcase as the likely trigger, with intense summer heat cited as a contributing factor. ANSA reported that the probable cause was a short circuit in the cart itself, explicitly stating it was not a lithium battery problem. Fanpage presented both hypotheses as plausible: an overheated lithium battery or a short circuit in the vehicle. Tgcom24 and La Stampa both leaned toward the lithium battery theory, citing the heat as a factor. The aircraft involved was identified as an Airbus A320neo by il Giornale and as an A321neo by Corriere della Sera. Firefighters and law enforcement were conducting further inspections to determine the definitive cause.

Flight delay

The scheduled departure time for BA585 was 13:45, according to Fanpage and Corriere della Sera. La Stampa placed the scheduled departure as before 14:00. The flight eventually took off for London Heathrow, but reported departure times varied across sources: Fanpage stated 15:31, La Stampa reported around 16:00, and Corriere della Sera gave 16:07. Il Giornale described the delay as approximately three hours.

Broader lithium battery concerns

Several articles connected the incident to wider concerns about lithium batteries in air travel. Corriere della Sera noted that electronic devices with lithium batteries have become the primary safety concern at altitude, with passengers carrying an average of up to five such devices each, including smartphones, tablets, e-readers, smartwatches, e-cigarettes, power banks, and wireless headphones. The newspaper reported that baggage handlers on the ground assist airlines by checking luggage to ensure such devices are not placed in cargo holds, where cabin crews trained to extinguish fires cannot access the baggage compartment during flight. Most commercial aircraft are equipped with fire suppression systems in cargo holds, but experts cited by Corriere warned these are designed to slow a fire, not extinguish it entirely. Il Giornale noted that had the fire occurred minutes later inside the cargo hold, the consequences could have been worse, even though the aircraft is equipped with systems to contain onboard fires. The incident recalled a fire on July 8 at a Brt courier sorting center, also attributed to overheated lithium batteries in a package, which produced a large black cloud.