US seeks global ban on laptops in checked airline luggage, citing risk of battery fire and catastrophic explosion
Proposed ban will be tabled at an international meeting of airlines next week, after tests show risks of explosion and ‘loss of aircraft’ if batteries overheat next to an aerosol spray
The US government is urging the world airline community to ban large, personal electronic devices like laptops from checked luggage because of the potential for a catastrophic fire.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a paper filed recently with a UN agency that its tests show that when a laptop’s rechargeable lithium-ion battery overheats in close proximity to an aerosol spray can, it can cause an explosion capable of disabling an airliner’s fire suppression system. The fire could then rage unchecked, leading to “the loss of the aircraft,” the paper said.
The UN agency, the International Civil Aviation Organisation, sets global aviation safety standards, although member countries must still ratify them.
The proposed ban is on the agenda of a meeting of ICAO’s panel on dangerous goods being held this week and next week in Montreal.
The FAA has conducted 10 tests involving a fully-charged laptop packed in a suitcase. A heater was placed against the laptop’s battery to force it into “thermal runaway”, a condition in which the battery’s temperature continually rises.