ICAO lithium battery ban on passenger planes set for April 1

The International Civil Aviation Organization, an arm of the United Nations, has issued an interim rule to member nations prohibiting the carriage of lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger planes.    The International Civil Aviation Organization on Monday issued an interim ban, effective April 1, for all shipments of lithium-ion batteries as cargo in the hold of passenger aircraft.
   Safety concerns about the flammability of these batteries, used to power devices such as cell phones and laptop computers, has grown in recent years following several incidents during air transport.  Lithium batteries can ignite under certain circumstances, such as overheating, and the resulting fires can rapidly spread when many batteries are stored together.
   Experts say current cargo fire suppression systems are not able to control a lithium battery fire.
   An ICAO committee previously recommended on Jan. 28 that the governing council ban lithium ion batteries aboard passenger aircraft.
   The interim prohibition will stay in place while the United Nations’ body develops a new performance standard for lithium battery packaging, which is expected to be completed by 2018.
   The ban does not apply to personal electronic devices carried by passengers or crew.
   Aircraft manufacturers and pilots associations have been among the most outspoken about the need for the battery ban on passenger planes.
   Earlier this month, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued a safety alert to commercial passenger and cargo airlines, urging them to conduct a safety risk assessment of transporting lithium batteries as cargo. It also issued guidance to its inspectors to help them determine whether airlines have adequately assessed the risk of handling and carrying lithium batteries.
   The National Transportation Safety Board also called on the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration at the Department of Transportation to require lithium batteries be physically separated from other flammable hazardous materials stowed on cargo aircraft and to establish maximum loading density requirements that restrict the quantities of lithium batteries and flammable hazmat.