By Robert Wall
LONDON--Europe's largest freight-only carrier, Cargolux Airlines
International SA, said on Tuesday it would temporarily stop
carrying some lithium batteries on its cargo jets amid a global
review of such shipments.
The suspension of such shipments would begin May 1, the
Luxembourg-based carrier said in a statement. The ban on bulk
shipments expands the type of lithium batteries Cargolux won't
carry, though it doesn't cover some power cells packed with or used
in equipment, the carrier said.
Lithium batteries, when packed tightly, can overheat or catch
fire if they suffer damage or experience short circuits. They have
been implicated in intense, quickly spreading fires that brought
down two jumbo freighters and ravaged another big cargo jet on the
ground in the past nine years.
Aviation safety experts are meeting in Montreal under the
auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization, an arm
of the United Nations, to debate options including temporarily
keeping bulk shipments of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries off
all passenger aircraft until enhanced packaging requirements and
other protections are in place.
Unlike earlier meetings of the same group of experts, this time
Boeing Co., Airbus Group NV and other plane makers in principle
support such a suspension, amounting to a major tightening of
current global shipping standards developed by the ICAO.
Cargolux said it took its decision "after reviewing new
information released by the FAA, Boeing and ICAO regarding the
effectiveness of the onboard fire extinguishing systems in case of
lithium ion battery fires and the temperatures that such fires can
develop."
Cargolux said it would explore whether technologies were
available that would allow the safe shipment of lithium ion
batteries in bulk.
Write to Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com
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