2 Lithium Ion Battery Limit?

traviswears

traviswears

Well-known member
A friend in in the biz posted on fb today that new TSA regs limit carry-on lithium-ion batteries to 2 max, no matter what capacity. Said he is stuck in an airport with a few dozen lithium-ion batteries they will not allow him to check. All under 100wh.

Anyone have more info on this and how it will affect our industry moving forward?
 
They may have changed this as well. But generally if a battery is mounted in a device (like a camera), and fits within the 100wh limit, it doesn't count towards the number of batteries you can carry.
 
Can't find any new TSA regulations on the net & only a recent recommendation from the FAA to the airlines to ban Lithium batteries in checked baggage.

Been on numerous domestic flights this month, & have another tomorrow morning. Last week the TSA did a secondary inspection on both my carry-ons. When I asked what alert them they stated it was all the batteries. Had 6x GH4, 6x 5D3, & 4x FS7, batteries & they still let me thru.

PS: mistakenly deleted my previous post, & had to repost, so it's now out of chronological order.
 
From my experience with the post office in the UK, it seems that the people who will cause you problems with these batteries are the people who are rarely informed of the rules. For example, many carriers in the UK outright refuse to carry "any" batteries, even though there are many types of battery with zero restriction on transport. I have had many people tell me that they won't take things even when their carriers DO allow them - they just hear "battery" and say no.
 
International regulations vary, but the FAA regulations are quite clear and are similar to most nations'. These rules have NOT changes in nearly a decade.

Short answer:

- Restrictions are for lithium-based batteries only. Nickel Metal Hydride and Nickel Cadmium are not restricted. No matter what certain battery sellers try to claim, Lithium Cobalt, Lithium-poly and Lithium Ion are regulated equally. The regulations are for any cells with lithium content.

- Lithium-based batteries are NOT allowed in cargo/checked luggage. They are to travel in carry-on luggage. The exception to this regulation is when a battery is "mounted" to a device. While the spirit of the regulation is in reference to something like a laptop with a lithium battery within it, some have taken it to mean that a battery mounted on a camera or even on a charger is allowable in checked baggage. I'm no lawyer or regulator so would not want to give an opinion.

- In carry-on luggage, an unlimited number of lithium-based batteries can be carried provided that (a) the lithium content of each sealed battery device does not excess 8 grams of lithium (100w battery power) and (b) each battery is electrically-isolated from others (electrical tape over contacts or sealed in a ziplock bag). An individual airline may have size/weight limits on carry-on luggage but that is not to be confused with FAA regulations.

- If an airline says a piece of luggage is too large/heavy to carry-on or if they claim that the plane is too full and your carry-on luggage can go into the cargo hold, that does NOT allow lithium-based batteries to go into cargo. Make them put someone else's luggage into cargo or you should arrange to ship your batteries by another method. The airline can simply refuse to allow you to bring the luggage onto the plane at all, so don't get too unruly, just tell them your bag cannot go into cargo.

- Up to two lithium-based batteries over 100w but not exceeding 160w can be transported in carry-on luggage by one person. They should also have contacts taped or be stored in ziplock bags. This is in addition to any lithium-based batteries under 100w. Several manufacturers make large batteries which split into two sub-100w parts for transport for this reason.

- Print out the appropriate government regulations and keep a copy in every transport case as well as on your person when flying. There are plenty of airport and airline staff who get this stuff wrong because they are just people too. In addition to the document Barry posted above there are several others available from the FAA as PDFs and in other formats, some of which are specifically about battery transport and even include helpful charts and illustrations of professional video-industry batteries. These exist from governments around the world.

- Just because you got away with it plenty of times before does not make it legal. In the US you can have ALL OF YOUR GEAR confiscated and forfeited (not just the batteries) and can be subject to a fine of up to $75,000. Not to mention the fact that should something go wrong you could bring down a damn plane, killing yourself, hundreds of others, and leaving your devastated family financially responsible for the inevitable lawsuits that will follow. So yeah, carry-on your damn batteries.
 
On my way back from Azerbaijan on Friday I got told by the team at check-in I had to place my V-lock batteries in my checked luggage! I tried not to laugh and politely informed them of the international regulations before being marched off to security. Luckily, the guys there knew the rules.
 
Just asked two TSA agents at a LAX Security Checkpoint if the regulations regarding Lithium Batteries had changed & they said, "No".
 
Thanks Mitch and Bern and everyone.

This looks like an isolated incident then. I wasn't there, so I am not sure what was said. I do know that another friend of mine was the producer on this job and missed his flight due to having to stay behind to find a method of shipping the batteries back, as they would not allow them to be carried on.

So looks like nothing has changed, but this is always good info to have and be reminded of!
 
Brief follow up.

Been on a number of international flights around Europe recently, & though my bags got hand inspected repeatedly, so far no issues carrying onboard a dozen lithium batteries.
 
lovecameras said:
unbelievable nonsense.
Click to expand...
A bit of checking should easily convince you it's far from nonsense, and Li-Ion batteries have been the cause for many fires. There are some incidents with small batteries (far smaller than typical V-lock camera batteries) catching fire in the cabin, where they could fortunately be dealt with. In the case of this incident - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UPS_Airlines_Flight_6 - they were carried as cargo and are generally believed to have caused the loss of the plane. (Which is why they are currently allowed in the cabin, but not in the hold.)

There are many, many other incidents, and if you need further links of the problems Li-Ion batteries can cause try http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-27920006 . Bad enough on a tube train - caused a major panic and terrorist scare - but imagine if it had been an aeroplane cabin in flight? Or in the hold where it couldn't be dealt with?

Still think it nonsense? OK, if you still need convincing, try http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-...ked-plane-fire-at-melbourne-airport3a/5728574 - where Li-Ion batteries checked in as hold baggage actually caught fire in the hold, fortunately just before the plane took off. We can only be grateful it happened when it did - not an hour or so later with the plane over the ocean.

The person responsible for carrying the batteries on board the flight was a licensed drone operator, the report said.

"The passenger who had checked in the case was located and was asked whether any batteries were in it, to which the passenger responded there were none," the final report stated.

"The ARFF and Australian Federal Police inspected all four of the bags checked in by the passenger and found 19 batteries intact and [an] additional 6-8 batteries that had been destroyed by fire."
Click to expand...

Does anyone know what eventually happened to the person concerned? Last I heard he was due to be prosecuted, and had made his situation far worse by lying about the contents of his luggage. Left up to me he'd be facing a very long spell in prison.
 
What about Li-po batteries? I just bought 2 ( 22000 mha) for my dji s1000 octocopter. Can I take them with me on the plane?
 
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