Lithium-Ion Batteries Banned as Cargo on Passenger Flights

03.03.2016

Carriage of the lithium-ion batteries (not installed to portable equipment) on the passenger flights will be banned from the 1 April. The decision has been introduced by the ICAO after increase of concerns for inflammability of lithium-ion elements.

Earlier the flights of Boeing-787 Dreamliner were suspended in Japan and the USA further to two cases of fire caused by the batteries on board of the aircrafts. Temporal prohibition will remain in force until developing new standards of fire-proof packaging. It is expected to appear in 2018.

Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in the portable equipment, namely as the batteries for mobile devices and laptop. Even though at the moment the prohibition will not be spread for carriage of the lithium-ion batteries in the baggage compartment, the manufacturers of the batteries and consumer electronics objected this initiative. Nevertheless, The Rechargeable Battery Association stated that the industry gets ready to comply with the prohibition, even though it may lead to serious interruption in carriage of specific types of goods.

The prohibition is mandatory for all ICAO member-states, including . According to the air safety experts, at least three planes has been damaged and four pilots have died in result of the fire caused by lithium-ion batteries since 2006.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-airlines-safety-batteries-idUSKCN0VW04Y