NEW RESTRICTIONS CAUSE AIRLINES TO REASSESS LITHIUM ION BATTERY RISKS
March 4, 2016
The FAA issued a February 11, 2016 safety alert to passenger and cargo airlines, urging them to perform safety risk assessments to properly identify and manage risks inherent with the transportation of lithium batteries as air cargo. The alert came following a decade of FAA battery fire testing that revealed the catastrophic risk potential for aircraft loss resulting from a lithium ion battery explosion or fire on board. The FAA is also issuing guidance to its inspectors to help determine whether airlines have appropriately assessed the risks of handling lithium batteries as cargo – including whether airlines have appropriately implemented new lithium ion packing and carriage instructions that become effective in April 2016.
Also effective April 1, 2016 will be the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) comprehensive ban on all cargo shipments containing lithium ion batteries by air, which is expected to remain in place until 2018. The ban does not, however, apply to lithium ion batteries packed with or contained within equipment or batteries.
For more information on the FAA safety ban see FAA Safety Alert for Operators 16001 (January 19, 2016): https://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/airline_operators/airline_safety/safo/all_safos/media/2016/SAFO16001.pdf.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665).