The UK Civil Aviation Authority has announced plans to educate and explain the importance of the requirements and measures in place to support the safe shipping of lithium batteries by air.
‘Batteries are included’ is a new industry-focused safety campaign launched by the regulator to help highlight the risks of wrongly packaged lithium batteries and devices.
A lithium battery fire in the hold of an aircraft is a significant operational safety risk.
Strict rules are in place to make sure they are carried safely, and bulk shipments can only be transported in cargo aircraft.
The aim of the campaign is to help raise awareness of the requirements that must be followed and to remind them lithium batteries and products that contain them, are included in dangerous goods regulations.
Sets of materials, including social media cards, have been created to include the types of items that have been discovered in incorrectly packed, marked, misdeclared or undeclared consignments. These are being offered to operators, to use internally or with their own suppliers.
Raising awareness of national and international regulatory frameworks and the need to follow and understand the correct requirements plays a part in the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s work to mitigate the risk of lithium battery fire in the hold.
Glenn Bradley, Head of Flight Operations at the UK Civil Aviation Authority said:
“Domestic and international incidents relating to lithium batteries often involve incorrectly packed, marked and labelled batteries, as well as misdeclared or undeclared consignments.
“‘Batteries Are Included’ will help educate and explain the importance of the requirements and provide extra safety promotion materials that can be shared widely with partners.
“Collaboration is key to help highlight the risks of incorrectly packaged lithium batteries and devices to those involved in every stage of operation, and this safety promotion complements the core regulatory work that is overseen by our Dangerous Goods Team.”
Notes to editors
- The UK Civil Aviation Authority is the UK’s aviation regulator. We work so that the aviation industry meets the highest safety standards and consumers have choice, value for money, are protected and treated fairly when they fly.
- Operators can contact safety.promotion@caa.co.uk to discuss the initiative and request campaign materials.
- More information about the campaign can be found on our website at www.caa.co.uk/batteries
Provide page feedback
Please enter your comments below, or use our usual service contacts if a specific matter requires an answer.
Fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required.