why loose lithium batteries aren’t allowed in hold luggage, but electronics containing lithium batteries are allowed
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A loose battery has exposed contacts that can be shorted out, which can start a fire. If they’re in a product that scenario is much less likely.
Lithium batteries are very energy dense. If they are punctured or over heat due to a short circuit, they can catch on fire or explode. You may have seen videos of this online.
A device that contains a lithium battery is generally designed to avoid the above conditions. It physically protects the pack from being ruptured.
A loose battery is more vulnerable to these conditions.
A fire in the cargo can only be put out with limited resources, and most if not all aircraft don’t indicate if it fully worked. A fire in the cabin can be dealt with by humans who can communicate to the flight deck. Also, the detecting equipment in the cargo might fail where 100+ humans will definitely notice something. Either way, a fire in flight means that plane will be landing asap.
Delta has actually recently started saying even electronics with lithium batteries have to be carried on. Had to move a laptop from checked bag to carry on 2 weeks ago, and was asked again at the ticketing counter on Friday.
>ELI5 why loose lithium batteries aren’t allowed in hold luggage, but electronics containing lithium batteries are allowed
It is not a very big leap of faith to trust the engineering teams of big electronic vendors to safely integrate high-energy-density batteries into their products.
It’s a slightly larger leap of faith to trust random consumer number 2891 to recite Ohm’s Law let alone safely store a high-energy-density battery in their hastily packed luggage.
I remember that some flights out of Bangkok earlier this year wouldn’t let people check in any electronics with lithium batteries and they even limited the size of power banks in carry on.
These batteries can catastrophically fail and start a fire.
In the passenger cabin they are at least being monitored, and a fire would be identified immediately and dealt with very quickly. In the cargo hold, there would be no monitoring until an actual fire start, and if it does, that is no reliable, fast access to try and extinguish it.
It doesn’t take much for a loose lithium battery to start a fire, I’ve had 2 18650 batteries go off by themselves after they have been damaged slightly
As far as I know (I travel frequently) no LION batteries can be in luggage at all. All electronic devices *must* be part of the carry on for the traveler even if your carry on has to be gate checked because of a “full flight”. You have to physically carry on your person, or carry on, all LION devices now.
They even warn you repeatedly on flights on now if you drop your phone or whatever to call an attendant because if you shift your seat you could crush your device and start a LION fire.
EDIT – if your bag is forced to be checked because you’re cheap, you have to physically carry your device, you cannot check a carry-on laptop into the hold, You’re just stuck holding it now. Along with any iPads, etc.
It is easier to diagnose and extinguish a fire in the cabin before it becomes catastrophic, whereas a fire in the hold could become catastrophic before anyone knew it was even happening.
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