Boeing has advised operators of its passenger jets to no longer accept bulk shipments of lithium batteries, according to a report in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal. The shipments, which are legal under FAA rules, have long raised safety questions and many airlines already decline to carry them. Safety tests conducted by the FAA have shown that if the batteries catch fire, the conventional firefighting chemicals carried in airplanes can be ineffective. Boeing reportedly labeled the shipments an “unacceptable fire hazard” and a spokesperson for the company told The Associated Press the shipments can cause fires that are capable of destroying airplanes.
Both the AP and the Journal said their sources suggest the move by Boeing may be a signal that the company plans to lobby for changes in the FAA rules that govern the battery shipments. George Kerchner, executive director of the Rechargeable Battery Association industry group, told the Journal he expects the FAA to propose a specific packaging standard more rigorous than the current rules, with a “rough draft” of the proposal to be completed by the end of this month.
