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By Alex Lennane
The aircraft parts supply chain could be disrupted if ICAO bans the transport of aircraft batteries on passenger planes. Media reports have stated that ICAO’s dangerous goods committee is in the process of revoking an exemption for lithium ion aircraft batteries which allowed them to be transported in the bellyhold, with immediate effect.
Aircraft batteries as heavy as 34kg were previously exempt from a ruling covering other types of lithium ion batteries on passenger aircraft.
However, concerns flagged by recent incidents on ...
Comment on this article
Jens-Thomas Rueckert
February 13, 2013 at 2:22 pmAlex, right on the spot, as always. A few remarks:
The limits imposed by special provision A51 in the ICAO TI and the IATA DGR (which is in question here) is actually 35kg and not 34.
Grossweight limits were largely abolished this year, so we’re talking about battery net mass and not gross weight as last year.
Why Mr. Steen is fabulating about “its just one type of Li-Metal battery” escapes me. Clearly the batteries used in the B 787 which caused this ruckus are of the Li-Ion type.
Now what IATA, TIACA and PRBA all KNOW but don’t say is that the definition of AOG commonly applied is far broader than the layman believes. One would assume that AOG (Aircraft on Ground) spares could actually only be shipped by MRO providers or manufacturers to MRO providers or airlines. However, lots of this business is outsourced, and these batteries end up more often than not in commercial cargo (consolidated or not) flagged as AOG which I believe is using the AOG denominator in a way it was never intended to be used.
Whether or not that particular battery then really is to be used in an aircraft is just a matter of believe it or not.