MONTREAL: The United Nation’s aviation agency banned shipments of lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger aircraft, following concerns by pilots and plane makers that they are a fire risk.
Lithium-ion batteries used in cell phones and laptops. The International Civil Aviation Organization’s 36-state governing council said the prohibition would be in effect as of April 1, and would be maintained until a new fire-resistant packaging standard is designed to transport the batteries. Lithium-ion batteries can still be transported on cargo planes.
The new packaging standard is expected by 2018, ICAO Council President Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu said in a statement. The ban would be mandatory for ICAO member states. Pilots and aircraft manufacturers are concerned that existing standards are not strong enough to contain lithium battery fires.
A 2015 working paper by an organization representing plane makers like Boeing Co found current firefighting systems on airliners could not “suppress or extinguish a fire involving significant quantities of lithium batteries.”
