FAA supports battery ban for passenger airlines

Federal Aviation Administration officials say they plan to back a proposed international ban on shipping potentially dangerous lithium ion batteries on passenger airlines, according to multiple media reports.    The Federal Aviation Administration plans to support a proposed international ban on lithium ion battery shipments on board passenger airline flights, according to multiple media reports.
   FAA officials met on Thursday to discuss the proposed ban, and decided to back the rules based on studies that have shown the rechargeable batteries can cause explosions and the resulting fires cannot be prevented by current fire suppression systems.
   The practice of selling cargo capacity in the belly hold of passenger aircraft is common place in the airline industry, but a series of dangerous incidents prompted the International Air Transport Association last year to release a set of guidelines for shipping lithium batteries by air. The airfreight carrier Cargolux began banning the shipment of lithium batteries from May, and UPS earlier this year also announced new restrictions on the shipment of such batteries.
   “We believe the risk is immediate and urgent,” FAA hazardous materials safety official Angela Stubblefield said at a public meeting Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
   FAA research has shown that when exposed to excessive heat, rechargeable lithium ion batteries can emit explosive gases such that even a small number of the batteries can pose an immediate danger. Stubblefield said airlines flying to and from the U.S. that currently allow shipments of lithium batteries also carry 26 million passengers a year, according to AP.
   The International Civil Aviation Organization is scheduled to discuss the proposed ban at a meeting in Montreal later this month.
   New regulations surrounding the multimodal ground transportation of lithium batteries went into force back in August. Those rules, from the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), require shippers moving such batteries by all modes of transport to meet specific packaging, hazard communication and documentation requirements.
   Because trucks are generally dedicated entirely to cargo, whereas air cargo often rides along with passengers, regulations on ground transportation of lithium batteries are not as stringent as those on the air transportation of such batteries.