The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is still the biggest reminder of battery safety in recent memory. There have been smaller incidences here and there, and Vivo may have found itself on the lesser list recently.
The Standard reported about a cargo fire at the Hong Kong Airport involving a shipment of Vivo Y20 phones. Three cargo boxes, which included the phones and related accessories, caught fire while waiting to be loaded onto a cargo plane. While it’s not immediately obvious what model of phones they were from the photos, the same can’t be said about the blue Vivo branding.
This is what the pallet was supposedly carrying, VIVO smartphones. Most probably a lithium battery issue similar to that Samsung Note problem from sometime ago.
Lithium batteries are a "Dangerous good" capable of igniting spontaneously under heat or physical damage. pic.twitter.com/ktxtwjde3w— Andre Quiros (@flyingheavy747) April 11, 2021
While the cargo flight the shipment was bound for was delayed, operations to the airport was otherwise unaffected. But it still led to reports of Hong Kong Air Cargo banning Vivo devices, as well as two air freight companies. Android Authority reports that the company has issued a statement, saying that it is currently investigating the incident.
According to the initial report by The Standard, the phones were bound for Bangkok. So if any market would suddenly face shortages of the Vivo Y20, it would likely only be the Thai market. A very similar device, the Y20s, was announced in Malaysia back in December 2020.
(Source: The Standard, The Loadstar, Air Cargo World via Android Authority)
