Why do batteries 101 to 160 watt hours need special approval to take on airplanes?

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My friend did this and got a slip of paper saying that if there’s any issue then they’ll be responsible for it.

Isn’t that true for any battery or anything a passenger brings on the plane? So why specifically 101 to 160?

In: Chemistry

6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Because the International Air Transport Association has produced guidance (https://www.iata.org/contentassets/6fea26dd84d24b26a7a1fd5788561d6e/passenger-lithium-battery.pdf) that most (all?) carriers accept.

Why have they produced that guidance? Because of the risk of fire if lithium rechargeable batteries are faulty or damaged. The bigger the battery, the more energy they may store, and the harder any such fire will be to contain or extinguish.

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