ICAO Approves Ban on Lithium Battery Shipments on Passenger Aircraft

摘要

The International Civil Aviation Organization has banned, on an interim basis, any shipments of lithium ion batteries as cargo on passenger aircraft. ICAO's 36-member governing council adopted the measure, effective April 1, as a safety precaution, the United Nations agency said Feb. 22 in a statement. "This interim prohibition will continue to be in force as separate work continues through ICAO on a new lithium battery packaging performance standard, currently expected by 2018," Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, the governing council's president, said in the statement. The ban applies only to lithium ion batteries shipped as cargo on passenger aircraft, not those contained in personal electronic devices carried by passengers and crew, the UN agency said. The measure follows on extensive reviews by the ICAO Civil Navigation Commission and the Dangerous Goods, Flight Operations and Airworthiness panels, it said (39 INER 167, 2/10/16).