The Civil Aviation Authority has issued a reminder to passengers that unlikely items such as batteries can cause catastrophic consequences to air travel.
As Brits prepare to take their summer holidays abroad, the CAA said it wanted to make sure passengers are aware of the risks of carrying onboard items such as culinary blowtorches, weed killer, petrol and batteries.
Manager of the Dangerous Goods Office at the CAA Geoff Leach said: “The majority of passengers are very careful when packing their luggage and know which items can and cannot be taken on board. Whilst we are all made aware of the security restrictions imposed, passengers still need to be reminded that some items, which are relatively innocuous in everyday use, are capable of posing a serious risk to the occupants of an aircraft, no matter where they are carried on the aircraft.”
He added: “One issue is the danger of fire from inappropriately packed batteries and
battery powered devices. Passengers frequently travel with electronic gadgets and, although the batteries in these rarely pose a safety problem, if they are loose or the equipment is inadvertently activated there is a danger of fire.”
In February last year a fire started in an overhead locker on a plane leaving New York JFK airport. The fire was extinguished but the aircraft had to return to New York for an emergency landing. It is thought the fire was caused because a battery in an overhead locker, carried on board by a cameraman, had short-circuited and overheated.
By Dinah Hatch
