New TSA rules

[Barrie]

Beginning 1/1/08, you may not pack extra lithium batteries in your checked luggage, but you can put them in your carry-on bags.

http://safetravel.dot.gov/whats_new_batteries.html (http://safetravel.dot.gov/whats_new_batteries.html)

[dinkybean758]

Barrie.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll try to read and understand this to avoid any troubles. Thanks again! :)

[Ursulinda]

I can't WAIT until I can drive places instead of flying!

[Robin]

I swear the government is trying to reduce air traffic by making it as difficult as possible.

I find it odd my computer battery will more likely burst into flames when not in my laptop (camera, or other device).

For me, either I want to pack as much as I can in my checked luggage so I'm not not dragging heavy bags around, or I might as well carry everything onto the plane.

[TiggersPal]

GOod grief, I guess this is why we keep driving instead of flying even though it's 1020 miles!

Oh, wait, that's because we camp, too:D And airfare for 6 people is astronomical! Even compared to the price of gas for the car and 8 miles per gallon while pulling the travel trailer:)

Seriously, we always have trouble with packing, it's the extra stuff like those batteries, etc., that load the carry-ons so heavy that you can't carry it and then you have to drag your laptop out.....

I guess it will be car trips from now on!

[kathleena]

Oooooh kaayyyyy. :confused:

I always carry mine on anyway because they are so expensive to replace, but :confused:

[TominPok]

I find it odd my computer battery will more likely burst into flames when not in my laptop (camera, or other device).

Could be that they think the battery is less likely to be damaged when installed in a device than when loose? Either way, I can't imagine anyone checking an electronic device - they'll be lucky if it arrives in one piece, if at all.

The whole situation reminded me of this SNL sketch (http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=7523716) about the TSA.

[WillCAD]

I think TSA actually employs people whose sole job is to come up with dumb ideas to implement, just so the public will get the mistaken impression that TSA does more than just hassle the public.

TSA seems to thrive on uninformed, reactionary rules that have little or nothing to do with reality.

[Mark]

Honestly, I'm surprised that it took them this long. After the fiasco with Sony's laptop batteries, I assumed that the hazard of LI batties was common knowledge.

If a terrorist wants to take down a plane, sticking a few lithium ion laptop batteries together and rigging them so that they'll overheat while on the plane would be fairly simple. When these things burn, they burn very hot - enough to melt through the aluminum fuselage of an airplane.

A typical camera battery wouldn't do much. It's the big laptop batteries that pack a lot of potential. If you look at the rules, they've tried to make them fairly permissive while balancing against the safety needs. It's a tradeoff that makes the rules complicated, but the alternative would be either a blanket ban or allowing an obvious security hole.

I don't like it any more than any of you. I've gotten to where I hate flying because of all the hassles. Still, it's not the TSA's fault that some common items can be missused by terrorists to kill people. Get mad at the terrorists and not the beaucrats.

[TominPok]

TSA seems to thrive on uninformed, reactionary rules that have little or nothing to do with reality.

I think Patrick Smith would agree with you - I just came across this recent essay (http://jetlagged.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/12/28/the-airport-security-follies/index.html) concerning the current state of Airport Security in the US.

[WillCAD]

Honestly, I'm surprised that it took them this long. After the fiasco with Sony's laptop batteries, I assumed that the hazard of LI batties was common knowledge.

If a terrorist wants to take down a plane, sticking a few lithium ion laptop batteries together and rigging them so that they'll overheat while on the plane would be fairly simple. When these things burn, they burn very hot - enough to melt through the aluminum fuselage of an airplane.

A typical camera battery wouldn't do much. It's the big laptop batteries that pack a lot of potential. If you look at the rules, they've tried to make them fairly permissive while balancing against the safety needs. It's a tradeoff that makes the rules complicated, but the alternative would be either a blanket ban or allowing an obvious security hole.

I don't like it any more than any of you. I've gotten to where I hate flying because of all the hassles. Still, it's not the TSA's fault that some common items can be missused by terrorists to kill people. Get mad at the terrorists and not the beaucrats.


I agree that the deffective Sony LI batteries are a fire hazard, but as far as I know, it's only the defective LI batteries that are dangerous, not all LI batteries.

And I also agree that it's not the TSA's fault that some common items can be misused to kill people, and not just by terrorists. But I'm mad at TSA for taking uninformed, incorrect, sometimes harmful measures to prevent what might happen if a bad guy chooses to do something bad with a common, everyday item.

I blame them only for their own actions, when their actions are wrong.