PSA: Never Pack Spare Lithium Batteries in Checked Baggage When Flying

[elsa hoffmann]

http://petapixel.com/2015/10/15/psa-never-pack-spare-lithium-batteries-in-checked-baggage-when-flying/

PSA: Never Pack Spare Lithium Batteries in Checked Baggage When Flying

[Michael Erlewine]

Well, that should prove to be very difficult for photographers who carry many spares for different cameras.

[bobfriedman]

i get asked this question often..... JAL every time i check in.

[Peter Forsell]

Lithium batteries are different from lithium-ion batteries. As far as I know lithium batteries are not rechargeable. Lithium batteries use lithium in its pure metallic form and are much more unstable than Li-Ion batteries, which use lithium compounds instead of pure metallic lithium.

Does this warning mean Li-batteries, Li-Ion batteries or anything that resembles any kind of lithium, like the dilithium from Star Trek? 

I know that Lithium (pure metallic) have been in no-checked-baggage list for years, maybe a decade even, but Li-Ion not.

[Bill De Jager]

Even lithium ion batteries pack a lot of energy.  There was a viral video some years ago showing someone's laptop going up in flames due to the battery catching on fire. It was pretty impressive. I would not want to short out a lithium ion battery, especially not on a prolonged basis.

Here are the FAA rules: https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ash/ash_programs/hazmat/passenger_info/media/faa_airline_passengers_and_batteries.pdf. Spare lithium ion batteries are not allowed in checked luggage and neither are their chargers.

[simato73]

Even lithium ion batteries pack a lot of energy.  There was a viral video some years ago showing someone's laptop going up in flames due to the battery catching on fire. It was pretty impressive. I would not want to short out a lithium ion battery, especially not on a prolonged basis.

Here are the FAA rules: https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ash/ash_programs/hazmat/passenger_info/media/faa_airline_passengers_and_batteries.pdf. Spare lithium ion batteries are not allowed in checked luggage and neither are their chargers.

I might understand the Li-ion batteries, but the chargers?! 
What threat do they pose?

[pluton]

Even lithium ion batteries pack a lot of energy.  There was a viral video some years ago showing someone's laptop going up in flames due to the battery catching on fire. It was pretty impressive. I would not want to short out a lithium ion battery, especially not on a prolonged basis.

The lithium-ion batteries(all of our cameras, laptops, smartphones) pack a lot of electrical energy, and when shorted or otherwise heated can produce a lot of pyrotechnic energy.  Witnesses have reported 1 meter streams of flame shooting out of shipping cases LI-ion batteries that have caught on fire.  Two Boeing 747 cargo jets have been lost--crashed and burned, with loss of life--- to Li-ion battery fires, or fires started by Li-ion batteries.
I also don't understand why the chargers are under scrutiny.

[Bill De Jager]

No idea why the chargers are an issue, unless they're afraid people will leave batteries in them.

Another consideration is that there is always the possibility that your carry-on will need to be checked at the gate or while boarding due to limited space on board.  FAA regulations require that lithium and lithium-ion batteries be removed from intended carry-ons that get checked.  On a recent trip, cognizant of this rule, I made it a point to pack my extra batteries in a plastic bag that could be easily removed from my carry-on if this situation arose (the plastic bag would have gone into the small backpack that qualified as a "personal item").  It didn't happen to me, but at least one late boarder had to get their carry-on checked.

[Jan Anne]

Thats old news, posted a topic on this last March 

http://nikongear.net/revival/index.php/topic,3021.msg42798.html#msg42798