Airline passengers must NEVER put lithium batteries in suitcases that are going into aircraft holds
Cabin crew are trained on how to deal with lithium battery fires at 35,000ft
An AvSax lithium battery fire mitigation bag
Airline passengers must never put lithium batteries in suitcases that are going into aircraft holds … but many passengers seem unaware of either the rule or the danger.
Lithium batteries are used to power all our personal electronic devices such as mobile phones, iPads, laptops, power banks and e-cigarettes and have the potential to go into what’s known as thermal runaway.
When this happens one cell in a battery overheats it can produce enough heat – up to 900°C (1652°F) – to cause adjacent cells to overheat.
The heat generated by chemical reactions inside the battery causes even more heat, leading to a continuous rise in temperature. This can result in the battery venting and releasing toxic flammable gases, exploding or catching fire and because they burn at such a high temperature they are very difficult to put out, especially by automatic fire suppression systems in aircraft holds.
This is why all electronic devices and spare batteries must be taken into the passenger cabin so if they do overheat or even catch fire the cabin crew can deal with the danger.
Many airline companies are now equipped with AvSax lithium battery thermal fire mitigation bags which are on board almost 17,000 aircraft globally and have been used in action dozens of times to deal with overheating, smouldering or burning electronic devices.
Lithium batteries have now become part of the pre-flight safety briefing on most flights, saying passengers must alert the crew if their device becomes hot but don’t spell out why and the danger of thermal runaway.
A survey in the US revealed that only six in 10 passengers were aware of the dangers of thermal runaway.
The by UL Standards and Engagement, an organisation focused on safety research, revealed that one in four passengers admits to packing lithium batteries in their checked bags - that’s luggage going into the aircraft hold.
Jessica Bailey, special projects manager Environmental Defence Systems Ltd – the UK company which invented and manufactures AvSax - said: “People are starting to realise that lithium batteries are a potential problem on aircraft but not exactly what could happen on board if they overheated to the point of catching fire.
“That needs to change so everyone realises it’s vital no lithium batteries that power our personal electronic devices or the devices themselves should go in checked luggage.
“Reassuringly, cabin crew are trained what to do in such an emergency and those airlines equipped with AvSax will know how to deploy it quickly to mitigate the possible hazards.”
For more information on AvSax click here.
