What happened
On Sunday, 15 March 2026, a Boeing 737-8FE registered VH-YFU and operated by Virgin Australia Airlines was involved in a cabin safety event during approach to Melbourne-Tullamarine Airport. The aircraft was operating Virgin Australia flight VA328, a scheduled passenger service from Brisbane International Airport to Melbourne.
At approximately 4:10 pm local time, during the approach phase to Melbourne-Tullamarine Airport, a passenger's vape pen battery experienced a thermal runaway event in the cabin. The flight crew and cabin crew responded to manage the in-cabin event, and the aircraft continued its approach and landed safely at Melbourne-Tullamarine Airport.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is gathering information about this occurrence.