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Feds want airlines to ban laptops and cameras
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    U.S. 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 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.

    As a result, the paper recommends that passengers shouldn't be allowed to pack large electronic devices in baggage unless they have specific approval from the airline. The paper says the European Safety Agency, the FAA's counterpart in Europe; Airbus, one of the world's largest makers of passenger airliners; the International Federation of Airline Pilots' Association, and the International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Association, which represents aircraft makers, concurred in the recommendation.

  • 4 Replies sorted by
  • joetheprojoethepro

    I understand the concern, but how big of a safety issue is this really? Are there numerous incidents where fires were caused by these batteries?

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @joethepro

    Something tells me that it is long term plan.

    Same thing had been with ban on batteries in parcels with biggest corporations who was behind media histeria.

  • eatstoomuchjameatstoomuchjam

    It's already forbidden to put lithium ion batteries into checked luggage. I always assumed that would extend to the internal batteries in laptops. Regardless, why would you want to put your laptop in checked luggage vs carrying it on?

  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev

    @eatstoomuchjam

    Because it can be additional 17" note, it can be many notebooks for group of people that are managed by dedicated person in team, etc.

    Capitalist airlines exist to make profits (while also keeping with interests of big stock owners). They do not exist to fulfill you need to get from point A to point B with just good comfort and shipping all the luggage you really need.

    Normal logic of something made for people is to have special container for such luggage and later just have special plane section designed for it.

    Whole "horrible danger" of this batteries originate from the fact that they can get into self keeping oxidation state. If luggage is separated into proper non flammable containers nothing bad can happen.

    Actually, huge amount of boxed batteries, notes, cameras, smartphones travel each day. And number of incidents is tiny.

    Another part is obsession with total safety by current regressive society. It is the logic of saving one man from the potential falling brick by destroying whole hospital.

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