In a bulletin that seems to directly question the wisdom of the new US and UK bans on large electronic devices in carry-on luggage, Europe’s aviation safety authority today warns that such devices are “dangerous goods” in the cargo hold.
The European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) April 5 bulletin does not mention directly new US and UK security rules introduced in March, banning passengers from carrying onboard electronic items larger than smartphones because of fears they may contain explosives. But the EASA directive is clearly meant to raise awareness of what it sees as a heightened fire risk the rules bring to airliners.
“PEDs containing lithium batteries are considered as dangerous goods. When carried by passengers, they should preferably be carried in the passenger cabin. This would enable the crew to react quickly in case an incident involving such PED occurs,” EASA says in a statement explaining the release of safety information bulletin (SIB) 2017-04.
The US and UK government security rules compel passengers on certain flights to do the opposite—to pack their lithium battery-powered laptops, tablets and other large electronics in their checked bags.
EASA notes that when PEDs are not allowed in the cabin, “it leads to a significant increase of the number of PEDs in the cargo compartment. Certain precautions should therefore be observed to mitigate the risk of accidental fire in the cargo hold. In particular, PEDs placed in checked baggage must be completely switched off and well protected from accidental activation.”
EASA executive director Patrick Ky adds, “Spontaneous ignition or thermal runaway of lithium batteries present safety risks which need to be taken into account. We must take all precautions to make sure that mitigating one risk does not lead to another risk.”
The bulletin raises yet more contradictions and confusion over the US and UK rules, which are targeted at direct flights to the US and UK from mostly Arab countries. 
The US measures apply to 10 airports, including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Doha Hamad and Istanbul Ataturk. The UK measures apply to six countries that include Turkey, but not the UAE or Qatar. This means that Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways direct flights to the US affected, but Emirates, Etihad and Qatar flights to the UK are not.
Neither the US nor the UK has explained why electronic devices that might contain explosives are safer in the cargo hold than in the cabin.
Adding to the confusion, Australia stepped up its security measures this week, but its list of affected flights contains only direct routes to Australia from the UAE and Qatar. The Australian rules also still permit PEDs in the cabin, but passengers and their carry-on baggage are subject to potential extra screening at the boarding gate.
Because of the different target lists, the UK and Australian measures affect British and Australian airlines on specific routes as well as Arab, Turkish and North African carriers. The US measures do not directly affect any US carriers.
The EASA SIB advises airlines that PEDs placed in checked baggage must be protected from damage by applying suitable packaging or casing or by being placed in a rigid bag protected by adequate cushioning, such as clothing.
The agency also recommends that PEDs “should be dispersed in the cargo hold, avoiding consolidation in a single container or location and, when practicable, away from any other dangerous goods.”
Asked for comment on the EASA bulletin, Arab Air Carriers Organization secretary general Abdul Wahab Teffaha told ATW, “Our calls, and the calls of many more parties, for governments to move in urgency about this ban, should be embraced and acted upon. 
“Our main objective remains to provide the travelers with safe and secure transport. I can't think of any better time for ICAO to step up to its responsibilities and gather concerned governments and other stake holders in order to devise global measures to mitigate the perceived threat without exposing air transport to safety hazards.”

ATW Editor's Blog

EASA’s safety warning raises most important question on electronic carry-on bans

Apr 5, 2017by  in ATW Editor's Blog
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EASA’s safety warning raises the most important question on these carry-on bans
EASA’s safety bulletin issued today warning of the hazards of loading lots of personal electronics in the cargo hold rather than let passengers carry them onboard as usual is really quite damning of the new US and UK security rules.
EASA’s bulletin does not mention the US and UK electronics carry-on ban directly. But there is no question that it was prompted by the ban and is directed at trying to mitigate what it sees as a clear, if unintended, consequence that one of these lithium battery-powered devices could catch fire during a flight.  
In the immediate term, of course, EASA’s safety bulletin is yet another headache mounted on top of the considerable extra work and cost that those airlines most affected by the US and UK rules are already encountering. The large hub carriers, Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines, are far more affected by these bans than any other airlines because of the size of their operations, their connecting mega-hub systems, and the fact that the bans apply mostly to Arab airports or countries.
Now, in addition to having to scramble to reassure passengers that their airlines and home airports are safe – despite the bans’ inescapable implication that they are not – they must also assure passengers that all those laptops being loaded into the cargo hold are not going to catch fire. It’s as if the US and UK governments, which could take away these airlines’ operating certificates if they don’t comply, is forcing passengers to choose which way they’d prefer to die on their flight, by bomb or by fire?
But the EASA bulletin does at least have credibility. The dangers of lithium batteries are known and have been seen. Safety is the number one, two and three priority for everyone in the commercial air transport industry, but maintaining that very high standard requires risk mitigation and avoiding unintended consequences.
EASA has raised a very pertinent question; does this electronics carry-on ban mitigate a likely very small  risk, given how many layers of security are already in place, at the expense of raising a potentially more likely safety risk, given what we know about lithium batteries and fire?
Uncomfortable as it may be for those with no choice for now but to check their laptops, this EASA bulletin points to the questioning and debate that is urgently needed on these bans so that a better solution is quickly found that protects both the security and safety of all travelers - passengers and crew.