New air flight safety rule on batteries.

aloyisious · 08-07-2014 10:45am #1

There's a new rule banning power-empty batteries being carried inside phones and other electronic devices on to planes. I'm puzzled as to why "flat" batteries, as distinct from fully/partly charged batteries are seen as a risk, when the other batteries have power and seem (on the face of it) more capable of use for whatever.... The airlines/airport security are asking passengers to turn on their electronic devices to prove there is power in device batteries

What (in layman terms) are the dangers posed by empty batteries?

Some airlines have rules barring passengers from packing spare "full" batteries in stored luggage (leakage-risk), whilst allowing them in "carry-on" luggage.

dutopia · 08-07-2014 10:54am

I think it's that if a device doesn't turn on it could be used to hide a bomb within the battery compartment.

aloyisious · 08-07-2014 2:05pm

I was thinking about the bomb-in-the-device plot, but thought about how the advice is NOT to switch on devices that can send out a signal or electronic pulse to trigger a device and thought......... how odd.

Capt'n Midnight · 08-07-2014 10:25pm

It's hard to know if there is anything behind this other than more security theatre.

Certainly a laptop is big enough to contain an unpleasant amount of nastiness, but a phone ?

And besides MacGyver would be spoilt for choice in Duty Free

I can see lots of tears from flat batteries, and growing sales of portable chargers at airports.

"One failed attempt at a shoe bomb and we all take off our shoes at the airport. Thirty-one school shootings since Columbine and no change in our regulation of guns." -John Oliver

djpbarry · 09-07-2014 2:32pm

And all someone has to do to circumvent these new measures is to fit a small, alternative power source in their laptop, next to the bomb, that provides just enough juice to power up for a few minutes.

Capt'n Midnight · 09-07-2014 5:20pm

djpbarry wrote: »

And all someone has to do to circumvent these new measures is to fit a small, alternative power source in their laptop, next to the bomb, that provides just enough juice to power up for a few minutes.

You mean like the way that many corporate laptops can swap a battery in place of an optical drive ?

New air flight safety rule on batteries.

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