As the CE/Imaging industries brace themselves for the busiest part of the trade show schedule, some new travel regulations from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are worth noting. Going into effect today, certain lithium batteries with exposed/uncovered electrical contacts, which they explain, if touched by other metal objects could cause an explosion and fire during a flight, are being ban from all flights. The TSA released a statement late last week that said travelers carrying any spare lithium batteries must make sure those loose batteries meet their new standards. The TSA is not worried about the batteries already installed in electronic devices, be it a digicam, iPhone or laptop. Those are safe to bring along with you on the plane in your carry-on bag.
The new rules state that you can’t pack spare lithium batteries in your checked luggage but can bring spare lithium batteries with you in your carry-on luggage with up to 8 grams of equivalent lithium content. Most lithium ion batteries in items such as cell phones and laptops are below this quantity threshold. For those of us in the CE/Imaging industry this translates to little worry as most consumer-type lithium batteries are permitted. The TSA is banning the transport of large lithium batteries that contain more than eight grams of content due to the potential of the aforementioned fire/explosion.
For more information, and some helpful photos, you can read the official announcement on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s SafeTravel Web site: safetravel.dot.gov/whats_new_batteries.html
