New regulations have been introduced for the movement of lithium batteries by air, which are effective from 1st April 2022.

The changes were buried in the multi-page packing instructions of the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations – 63rd edition. The result of these new regulations is any lithium batteries sent on their own require the completion of a shipper’s declaration for dangerous goods, additional marking and labelling and also full dangerous goods by air training.

Air freight regulations have been changing much more frequently than road, sea and rail, and seem to be reflective of the growth in the transport of these battery types. Many lithium powered electrical devices, such as mobile phones, tablets along with scientific and medical equipment, are more likely to travel by air freight.

IATA regulations for their movements were only amended in January, and there were calls then for more scrutiny following a number of fires and incidents on standing aircraft.

While Lithium batteries are considered safe to users, when installed in electronic devices such as mobile phones and power tools, they can actually be punctured and can ignite or even explode. When handled or stored together, this can can lead to fires, which is why they are considered dangerous goods.