Safety Precautions regarding the Transport by Air of Damaged, Defective or Recalled Lithium Batteries

On 09/02/2017 EASA withdrew the SIB 2016-14 R1 and published SIB 2017-01. This SIB contains general recommendations regarding the transport by air, as cargo and by passengers, of damaged, recalled, defective or potentially hazardous lithium batteries, including those contained in equipment. The difference between this new SIB and the previous one is that the recommendations contained in the SIB 2017-01 do no longer refer specifically to Samsung Galaxy Note7 devices.

EASA has continued to monitor the situation with the Samsung Galaxy Note7 devices and noted that there are no recent reports of fire related incidents or accidents involving these devices on board of the aircraft. EASA has also continued to be in contact with representatives of Samsung Electronics Co. who updated the Agency regularly regarding the measures initiated by them in response to this situation. Based on the latest information provided by Samsung Electronics Co., the Agency noted that:

  • over 94% of all devices originally sold on the European market have been successfully recalled and 96.5% worldwide by 02 February 2017
  • on 31 January 2017, Samsung Electronics Co. released in Europe an update to the software that would prevent the device from charging and would eliminate their ability to work as mobile devices (http://www.samsung.com/uk/note7exchange/)

The Agency also took note of the update on January 12, 2017 of the Emergency/Prohibition Order issued in October 14, 2016 by the FAA (Order No. FAA-2016-9288), which prohibited the transportation of any Samsung Galaxy Note 7 device by the passengers, in carry-on baggage, in checked baggage, or as cargo. The Amended Emergency Restriction/Prohibition Order removes the requirement for air carriers to alert passengers to the prohibition against air transport of a Samsung Galaxy Note7 device, in particular, immediately prior to boarding. The prohibition for its transport, however, remains.

EASA urges aircraft operators from EASA member states and foreign operators flying into, within or out of Europe, to implement the SIB-2017-01 by following its recommendations.