Lithium-Ion Batteries Banned As Cargo On Passenger Flights

Feb 28, 2016, 03:52

Passenger planes should be banned from carrying large numbers of lithium batteries as cargo, says a United Nations aviation watchdog. Monday's decision by the International Civil Aviation Organization's top-level governing council isn't binding, but most countries follow the agency's standards.

The ICAO's restrictions are scheduled to go into effect on April 1.

Lithium-ion batteries are used in smartphones, tablets and all sorts of portable electronic devices commonly used on planes, but passengers can still bring batteries on board with the new rules. If they self-ignite, the fires can reach temperatures near 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit, near the melting point of aluminum.

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He, or she, told the news agency: "When the industry banned the shipment of lithium-metal batteries, we saw instances of them being passed off as lithium ion batteries".

A majority of batteries are transported on cargo ships, but about 30 percent are shipped by air. "Our goal is to find a solution which will permit the lithium-ion industry and its customers to continue to benefit from rapid and reliable global air transport", the ICAO statement said. A single cargo container can hold thousands of batteries.

Airlines and pilot associations had requested the ban citing security reasons, the ICAO said.

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Pilots and aircraft manufacturers are concerned that existing standards are not strong enough to contain lithium battery fires.

The trade group backs a measure in the U.S. House of Representatives to toughen safety standards for shipping batteries on passenger planes, arguing that a ban "raises serious questions about the delivery of lifesaving medical device batteries needed by patients, doctors, nurses and hospitals in remote areas and shipments to U.S. armed services around the world".

The Rechargeable Battery Association, which fought the ban, said its members were preparing to comply.

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The drumbeat to ban the batteries from passenger planes has been growing over the past year, especially as they become more commonplace in the market. The ban doesn't apply to batteries packaged inside equipment like a laptop with a battery inside, for example.