This is a pretty important bit of news for those of you, like me, who travel fully equipped with gadgets:
“To help reduce the risk of fires, air travelers will no longer be able to pack loose lithium batteries in checked luggage beginning Jan. 1, the Transportation Department said Friday.
Passengers can still check baggage with lithium batteries if they are installed in electronic devices, such as cameras, cell phones and laptop computers. If packed in plastic bags, batteries may be in carryon baggage. The limit is two batteries per passenger.
The ban affects shipments of non-rechargeable lithium batteries, such as those made by Energizer Holdings Inc. and Procter & Gamble Co.’s Duracell brand.
“Doing something as simple as keeping a spare battery in its original retail packaging or a plastic zip-lock bag will prevent unintentional short-circuiting and fires,” Krista Edwards, deputy administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, said in a release.
That’s according to the Associated Press. Note the sentence I highlighted, too: we are limited to only two batteries per passenger, so if you’re traveling on an extended trip, this could mean you have a problem and might end up having your expensive spare batteries confiscated. Not good.
Thankfully, this only applies to non-rechargeable lithium batteries, and not the alkaline batteries that people may be more likely to have in their luggage.
This borders on the absurd. Tomorrow, it will be how many times we can flush the toilet on board (Once per visit). The TSA seems to think THEY have Imperial Powers. I thought aircraft safety was an FAA responsibility. At least FAA has a requirement for public comments prior to rule making.
Is the limit two batteries or two cells?