BMI said:
This extra charge is only applicable to any lithium ion batteries shipped/sold in the USA. The charge does not apply to any customers outside of the USA (at the present time). The charge may rise further once the IATA lithium battery shipping regulations are reviewed. This has come about due to several fires aboard air freight aircraft (particularly UPS) and in particular the recent lithium battery fire which resulted in the crash and death of both pilots in Dubai a couple of months ago.
You can blame the irresponsible companies and/or individuals who have shipped hazardous lithium polymer/lithium cobalt oxide batteries for the extra charges you have to pay.
Hmmm............
First off, the investigation into the CAUSE of the Sept 3rd Dubai accident to N571UP isn't yet known, so we cannot say how or why the fire started and speculation simply hampers getting at the true cause. It may well be that the fire had nothing at all to do with the batteries being carried, the fire could have started from a fault with the aircraft or with any of the other cargo being carried, some of which may have been far more hazardous than lithium batteries. There have, for example, been cargo fires caused by pyrotechnics, oxygen candles, fireworks etc in the past. Although it has been reported that there was a shipment of lithium batteries on board, it's wrong to assume that these are the cause until we have some evidence from the investigators, which is likely to take a fair time, at least 6 months and maybe 12 before we see the final report and recommendations.
Secondly, the photo you've very misleadingly posted is of the accident to N748UP at Philadelphia on Feb 7th 2006. This wasn't a lithium-induced fire, so you're scaremongering by posting it. The official NTSB report states:
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was an in-flight cargo fire that initiated from an unknown source, which was most likely located within cargo container 12, 13, or 14. Contributing to the loss of the aircraft were the inadequate certification test requirements for smoke and fire detection systems and the lack of an on-board fire suppression system.
I've been associated with aircraft accident investigations and the one thing I've learned over the years is that the true cause often turns out to be something completely different to that speculated about by an ill-informed press. We may know sometime in 2011 what the cause of the Dubai UPS fire was, so let's wait until then before choosing to blame people or make advertising copy from a nasty accident, eh?
It's also worth noting that ALL lithium chemistry batteries present a substantial fire hazard, including LiFePO4. Lithium metal burns fiercely and is very difficult to extinguish with conventional fire extinguisher systems. We had to install graphite powder extinguishers to kill lithium fires and they, in turn, pose their own hazards when used on aircraft (they can actually cause electrical fires as a side effect, plus the graphite causes severe corrosion to aluminium alloys). Also, UPS (and other freight companies) have a fairly poor record when it comes to cargo handling, HAZMAT container segregation and fire suppressant systems, as the above quote from the NTSB mentions.
If packages are properly packed, with appropriate measures taken to avoid damage and maintain safe segregation distances, then there's no reason they can't be carried. Have a think about how many laptops, mobile phones etc are sitting in the lockers on pretty much any passenger flight, not to mention the lithium power hand-held units used to download data the the FMS by the crew.
Jeremy
), and HK simply wont ship here by ground from the us warehouse, so you're left with getting them here from China. EMS won't ship more then 3500 ah amounts according to the automated ordering system, their online help and their customer service email.
