Amazon Fined for Shipping Lithium Batteries on Passenger Planes | Hacker News Reader

Amazon Fined for Shipping Lithium Batteries on Passenger Planes

wired.co.uk

74 pointsJboyOzette24 comments

If Amazon pays a shipper to deliver product to its customers (or move them between warehouses) isn't it the shipper's responsibility to make sure they're shipped via an approved (legal) method? I guess Amazon would be responsible for disclosing the contents but this articles tells us almost nothing.

IATA lithium-ion battery shipping rules make it pretty clear that packages containing Li-on batteries have to be clearly identified using warning labels. There are also limits to number of battery packs and Ah capacities in packages. If you've ordered anything with a Li-on battery in the last couple of years that was shipped by air, it should have had a warning label on it that looks like https://uline-h.assetsadobe.com/is/image/content/dam/images/...

That is the responsibility of the packer.

edit: just noticed that the article mentioned lithium batteries rather than li-on batteries, but the rules are similar. See http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/cargo/dgr/Documents/lithium-bat... for more info.

Why doesn't my iPhone 7 box have this sticker? It flew via UPS, does that make any difference? If I recall correctly a UPS flight crashed due to a battery fire a few years ago.

Only "raw" batteries are restricted. Once they're inside a finished electronic product, they're often fine. (Go figure.)

This is why so many external USB battery packs for phones and the like have a flashlight built in - it's a legal loophole that lets the manufacturer pretend it's a flashlight, and not a "raw" battery.

Interesting. Although I actually find it useful that they include the flashlight. Win/win.

Because the risk of a mechanical accident damaging the battery is smaller. Also less similar batteries in close proximity to catch fire

This is not quite right, but once a 'small' single cell is in a 'package', shipping it with other similar products is only subject to the 'overpack' rules.

Some companies still prefer to err on the side of caution, every single device I have ever ordered from T-Mobile has had the lithium sticker on the shipping box even though as far as I'm aware it's not required (especially in devices with non-removable batteries).

Are you sure about this? Lenovo, Dell and Acer all put big LiIon warning/danger stickers on their laptop boxes when shipping. Are they doing this voluntarily?

Some of the batteries are removable, but others aren't. Maybe it's related to the size/capacity of the batteries?

IIRC there's a legal limit on the allowed capacity of a Li-ion battery in a device on an airplane, yes. That might be related.

So just put another box around the battery and call it a battery-powered box.

You have to read the rules very carefully. Your iPhone counts as a single cell in a package; multiple iPhones are only ever shipped in an "overpack".

Different restrictions between passenger and freight aircraft. The freight rules are looser.

I assume Amazon operates like most retailers in that they would be buying a certain type of shipping service. Often dangerous goods shipping is at a different rate.

I would guess that most likely there were just products in their system that were missing a flag for dangerous goods.

The article I read said the database of dangerous goods was not adequately maintained.

I can't find it now. The BBC item has more detail though: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-37454587

Even more complicated is the Fulfilled By Amazon stuff they do for 3rd parties, where they can often be relying on the 3rd party to provide an accurate assessment for an item that they don't sell themselves.

A while back I wanted to buy an air soft gun on Amazon. I tried buying one, but Amazon gave a note that they couldn't deliver air soft guns to my state.

So, I added 10 different air soft guns to my cart, went to the checkout step, and something like 3-4 of them did not get marked as illegal.

Not sure if their item flagging has improved since then, but keeping track of all the special considerations of their products must be tough.

The states that have legislated airsoft and BB guns as "firearms" or other weapons, tend to not joke around if they find out people own them and they are "unregistered".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UPS_Airlines_Flight_6

Also, the UPS cargo 747-44AF/SCD had inadequate cockpit/cargo air-handling separation, fire suppression, cargo-cockpit/airframe firewalling, lacked EVAS, isolated oxygen supplies and didn't have per-cargo-container fire detection and suppression.

Ah, there was an event that triggered a regulation? I was going to say that someone must have finally read this comic: https://xkcd.com/651/

Your link says: "In October 2010, the FAA issued a Safety Alert for Operators highlighting the fact that the cargo on board Flight 6 contained a large quantity of lithium type batteries. The FAA issued a restriction on the carrying of lithium batteries in bulk on passenger flights."

But the comic seems to have come out on Oct 19 2009, so I guess the comic was prescient.

>These dangerous goods include lithium batteries, which are banned from being transported as mail or cargo on a passenger aircraft unless they are installed in or packed with equipment

...so transporting a Galaxy Note 7 is fine.

Yes, but they ask that you follow certain restrictions[0].

[0] https://www.southwest.com/html/advisories/swa_travel_advisor...

"These dangerous goods include lithium batteries, which are banned from being transported as mail or cargo on a passenger aircraft unless they are installed in or packed with equipment"

So a battery in a padded packaging is not ok, but if it's inside a laptop, then suddenly it's all good. Mind boggling.

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