Airline industry seeks crackdown on ‘rogue’ battery shipments

The world’s main airline trade groups and European and US lithium battery makers are seeking tighter product-quality and sourcing enforcement, saying a ban on shipments in passenger airliners risks being extended to cargo carriers. Governments need to enforce regulations more strictly against “rogue producers and exporters,” and impose stiffer penalties on companies that put shipments of improperly tested batteries on cargo aircraft, the IATA, International Air Cargo Association and three manufacturers’ or shipping lobbies said Monday. “We’ve had regulations in place for a long time, and they’re regularly strengthened but the frustration is the failure of some states to step in and enforce the regulations,” said Dave Brennan, an assistant director at IATA for cargo safety and standards, said by phone. In some countries, manufacturing is outpacing overseers’ ability to check standards, while some nations’ aviation authorities lack the legal means to impose fines without going to court, he said. Growth of worldwide shipments of lithium-ion batteries, which power devices such as smartphones, laptops and toys, is projected to average 20% annually for the next decade or so after reaching about $16b last year. Three freighter blazes have been linked to lithium battery shipments<br/>