Fear over lithium-ion batteries exploding during mid-flight has caused the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to issue a new safety measure banning all shipments of the batteries as cargo on passenger aircraft. The 36-state ICAO Governing Council ruled that any lithium-ion batteries shipped as cargo on passenger aircraft would not be allowed except those contained in the personal electronic devices carried by passengers and crew. Lithium-ion batteries are used to power just about every piece of consumer electronics technology from smartphones, to laptops, to tablets, to everything in-between.
The ban will not apply to those batteries that are already in devices and only apply to those devices being carried as cargo. The concern comes from these batteries being transported too closely together and possibly causing issues with the aircraft during flight including explosions.
“Safety is always our most fundamental priority in international civil aviation,” says Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, ICAO Council President. “This interim prohibition will continue to be in force as separate work continues through ICAO on a new lithium battery packaging performance standard, currently expected by 2018.”
The ICAO decision will take effect beginning April 1 and comes after the organization consulted extensive reviews by the ICAO Air Navigation Commission, the UN agency’s Dangerous Goods, Flight Operations and Airworthiness panels, the ICAO says.
