EASA issues safety reminder over lithium batteries

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has released a safety bulletin reminding aircraft operators and airlines of the critical principles with regard to safety over transportation of portable electronic devices (PEDs) containing lithium batteries when performing all safety risk assessments.
The preference is for any PEDs owned by passengers to be carried in the passenger cabin in order for any incident to be responded to swiftly. Where this is not the case, passengers need to be reminded of the importance of ensuring that all PEDs are switched off and also protected against accidental reactivation.
“Passengers and crews safety is our highest priority. Spontaneous ignition or thermal runaway of Lithium batteries present safety risks which need to be taken into account. We must take all precautions to make sure that mitigating one risk does not lead to another risk” said Patrick Ky, EASA’s Executive Director.
Several companies are developing PED containment bags which can protect aircraft cabin crew and passengers from burning devices onboard a plane. It is understood that airlines including Singapore Airlines, Finnair, leisure carrier Sunexpress and Switzerland-based Private Air are in discussions with one leading developer of the security bags, which can withstand an internal heat of up to 1000 degrees centigrade.