Regulations surrounding the carriage of lithium batteries, which have been implicated in several fires on board airliners, must be more strictly enforced, the International Air Transport Association and battery manufacturers said on Tuesday. Significant financial penalties and even prison sentences should be imposed on those flouting the regulations, they said in a letter to trade and transport ministers, as well as civil aviation regulators in the world’s major battery manufacturing and exporting nations, ATWonline.com reported. IATA, the manufacturers and the International Air Cargo Association said safety regulations related to lithium batteries should be enforced at the point of origin, including the initial shipper and battery manufacturer. They also called for the implementation of cooperative enforcement initiatives between legal jurisdictions to address situations where lithium batteries manufactured in one state are driven over a border to be flown from another state.
