News / Cargolux bans transport of disposable vapes from all flights

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Cargolux has banned the transport of disposable electronic cigarettes, or vapes, on all its flights.  

The Luxembourg cargo carrier said it was a response to growing concern about the adverse effects of these products on both public health and the environment.  

It also highlighted the threat posed by the lithium batteries in the products – but rather than the risk of fire, Cargolux said its concern was the “environmental risk, if not properly disposed of”.  

Several countries have imposed bans on the purchase of disposable vapes and electronic cigarettes, including Brazil, China, India and, most recently, the UK. 

E-cigarettes and disposable vapes are largely manufactured and exported from China, despite the ban on them there.  

Last year, Hong Kong reversed a decision to ban the transhipment of e-cigarettes and vapes after forwarders had claimed the cargo amounted to about 330,000 tons a year – the equivalent of some 10% of Hong Kong’s annual export volumes by air, according to the Hong Kong Association of Freight Forwarding and Logistics (HAFFA). 

HAFFA had said the ban was “a huge blow” and had “stifled” the freight business. Chairman Gary Lau added: “The [ban] has led to a serious decline in Hong Kong’s overall air export volume, causing the industry, airlines, cargo terminals and Hong Kong International Airport to lose hundreds of thousands of tons of re-exports every year.” 

Grand View Research report the global e-cigarette and vape market was valued at $28.17bn last year, most of the product having travelled from Shenzhen by air.  

Disposable vapes join an expanding list of items Cargolux refuses to transport across its global network for ethical reasons, including ivory, captured wild animals and the metallic ore coltan originating from Africa.  

President and CEO of Cargolux Richard Forson said: “With this action, we hope to contribute to reducing the availability of these products on the market. As a responsible corporate citizen, Cargolux aims for this initiative to encourage other logistics operators to adopt similar measures.”