Effective January 1, 2008, airborne travelers can no longer pack loose Lithium batteries in checked luggage, except as specified in the following.
Tests conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proved that fire-protection systems in passenger airplanes' cargo holds cannot extinguish fires that Lithium batteries create. The tests led to promulgation of a rule prohibiting stowing loose Lithium-containing batteries in luggage.
If the battery is contained in an electronic device, such as a laptop, camera, or cell phone, it is acceptable for travel, whether packed in checked or carry-on luggage. Any individual Lithium packs that are not installed in a device will probably be confiscated.
Although only contained batteries are allowed in checked baggage, a traveler is allowed to take loose Lithium batteries with him or her in a carry-on. However, the amount a traveler can transport has limits.
The maximum is two batteries per passenger if the spare battery exceeds 8 grams of Lithium content. All batteries found in cell phones and nearly all those in laptop computers contain less than 8 grams of Lithium, so most travelers with standard devices should not have to worry.
For every 100 watt-hours, there is an average of 2 grams of Lithium in a Lithium-content cell. A 3.7, 1800 mAh battery has 6.66 watt-hours (3.7 x 1.8 = 6.66) of power, which works out to just 0.03 gram of Lithium. A three-cell, 1800 mAh, 11.1-volt pack contains less than one-tenth of a gram of Lithium. It is no big deal unless you try to carry a 10S pack of 4.8 Ah cells!
The concern is that this new study may cause the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to be overly cautious about those who travel with any sum of Lithium batteries that aren't recognized as related to cell phones or laptops. It would be a shame to have a battery seized, even if the content were well less than the allowable limit.
It will be proposed to the AMA Executive Council that the Academy conduct a test case to carry cells in an AMA-approved "Laptop Spare Pack Carrier" that makes the Lithium batteries as safe as if they were installed in a laptop or other accepted device.
For the time being, mail ahead, by surface, any batteries you need for an event you will travel to by airliner until the situation is clarified by the AMA and the FAA in such a way that the TSA will accept it without question. MA
—MA Staff
Taken from http://www.modelaircraft.org/mag/MARCH08/onthefly.htm
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