US Bars Lithium Batteries as Cargo on Passenger Aircraft

US Bars Lithium Batteries as Cargo on Passenger Aircraft
An HP EliteBook 1050 G1 laptop on display at WIRED25 Work: Inside San Francisco's Most Innovative Workplaces on Oct. 12, 2018 in San Francisco, Calif. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for WIRED25
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WASHINGTON—The U.S. government said on Feb. 27 it is issuing new rules barring airlines from carrying potentially hazardous lithium-ion cells and batteries as cargo on passenger aircraft, and setting new requirements for transporting them on cargo planes.

The U.S. Transportation Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) unveiled the new rules after Congress last year ordered the agency to complete them by early 2019. The agency is adopting requirements that have been force in other countries since 2016.