Airline bans vivo phones after airport fire (Update: vivo investigating)

A Hong Kong-based cargo airline has reportedly announced a ban on Vivo phones after a major cargo fire at Hong Kong Airport over the weekend.

The cargo fire occurred on the airport’s apron just before the pallets containing vivo Y20 phones and associated accessories were due to be loaded into a Hong Kong Air Cargo plane bound for Thailand, The Standard reported (h/t: 91mobiles).

Videos of the incident posted online show the fire itself, starting with one pallet and spreading to two more. Photos also show numerous damaged vivo-branded boxes and phones in the aftermath, as seen below.

Several industry outlets have since reported that Hong Kong Air Cargo has banned vivo devices and two air freight companies until further notice. The fire’s cause isn’t known yet, but lithium-ion batteries used in smartphones can cause fires if they’re defective or damaged. We previously saw this happen with Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 back in 2016.

“We noticed that a shipment of goods, some of which were vivo products, got burned on the parking apron of Hong Kong International Airport on April 11,” vivo told Android Authority in response to an emailed query. “We have paid high attention and immediately set up a special team to work closely with the local authorities to determine its cause,” it added, saying it would keep the media and public informed of any developments.

For what it’s worth, the company also manufactures phones in India, so it seems unlikely that this incident and apparent ban could affect India’s supply.