TSA Limits Lithium Batteries on Airplanes

[hofodude]

http://it.slashdot.org/it/07/12/28/1944208.shtml

Another limitation :(

[Codeman]

And somewhat complicated, too - What's New - Batteries (http://safetravel.dot.gov/whats_new_batteries.html).

Thanks for the heads up!

[DB]

Geez, that's about as confusing as it gets. I'm a photographer, and I pack about 4-6 spare batteries for my camera, then there's my cell phone, my laptop, flashlights... What prompted this ridiculous restriction?

[Cuso]

Geez, that's about as confusing as it gets. I'm a photographer, and I pack about 4-6 spare batteries for my camera, then there's my cell phone, my laptop, flashlights... What prompted this ridiculous restriction?
Well they must have seen those Youtube erudites blowing up their damaged batteries for fun... And after reading about some of the flashlight explosions on CPF , I understand the concern. You certantly dont want a battery venting on that luggage compartment full of clothing and suitcases..

[bigfoot]

I wonder... are they talking about lithium rechargeable batteries, lithium 123 cells, or both?

[Ronin Six]

Not sure if this is already common knowledge (didn't find any related topics on a quick search), but thought this might affect some people here.

Got an email from Orbitz through our HR department....



"Dear Orbitz for Business traveler,

Here at the OrbitzTLC Center, we're always keeping an eye on news that may affect your travel experience.

We wanted to let you know about a new federal law that bans spare lithium batteries in checked baggage.

Effective January 1, 2008, air travelers will be required to keep all spare lithium batteries in carry-on baggage, with the terminals covered.

For more details, please visit the Department of Transportation's Safe Travel Web site at http://safetravel.dot.gov/whats_new_batteries.html.

Thanks for traveling with Orbitz for Business. Have a good trip.

Sincerely,

The OrbitzTLC Team"

[Codeman]

The above thread was merged.

Ray
:dabird:

[Ronin Six]

Ah, of course, there it is. Thanks for the assist, Codeman. :)

[Codeman]

:thumbsup:

[inthedark]

If I understand this correctly, they're ONLY talking about spare batteries over a certain size? Doesn't sound like it's going to affect our flashlights and stuff, seems to be targeted to those external battery packs for laptops. They're talking about 100Wh and over, and I think the lithium 123's are only about 3-4 Wh, so we should have nothing to worry about. At least I can still carry on my flashlights ;D, dont' know what I'd do if i had to check them in.

[Katdaddy]

So, carry several lights with you in your carryon bag, using some of them as battery carriers.

[giggles]

How about ordering batteries and having them shipped by air mail overseas?

I am looking to buy about a CRATE from SureFire..

(like hundreds of batteries or something)

[scanshift]

I flew on united arab emirates airline about 6 years ago, where they confiscated every battery on the plane, even if it was just one AA. It was strange, they gave no explanation as to why they were doing it, and they were quite aggressive in intimidating all the passengers to open their bags and pull all their batteries out and turn them over.

[ttate90303]

Wonder if this means an increase in sales of the SF Battery carriers.

[greenLED]

I posted this on CPF, but I thought it'd be worth mentioning here too:

I asked 3 separate TSA people at PDX, and neither had heard about the new rules. One of them told me that as long as I carried a number of cells matching the length of my trip, I would be OK with them in my carry-on. :shrug: YMMV, as it's been my experience different airports tend to certain items differently.

ttate - yup, those spares carriers are *beefy* - made out of lexan, IIRC.