The fear is the same, that a bag containing an e-cigarette could cause a catastrophic fire on an aircraft in flight causing it to crash.
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In announcing the rule, the DOT cited a pair of incidents with the past 15 months in which e-cigarettes caused fires inside the bags where they had been packed: on August. 9, 2014, at Boston’s Logan Airport, when an e-cigarette in a checked bag in a plan’s cargo hold caused a fire that forced the plane’s evacuation; and on January 4 this year, at Los Angeles worldwide Airport, when a checked bag caught fire in a baggage area.
The Department of Transportation has issued a directive banning e-cigarettes from checked bags. Out of those total explosions, a few of the explosions were caused by e-cigarettes packed in checked luggage on airplanes.
“This danger may be exacerbated by the growing trend of users modifying and rebuilding their reusable e-cigarette devices (personal vaporizers) and interchanging original and aftermarket batteries, heating elements, and vaporizing components”, the FAA warning continued.
The rule also prohibits passengers from charging such devices and their batteries aboard aircraft.
“Given the safety risks posed by e-cigarettes in checked baggage, PHMSA believes that public notice would frustrate the due and required execution of agency functions”, the agency said.
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A new federal regulation say airline passengers will not be allowed to pack electronic cigarettes or any other electronic smoking devices that run on battery, in their checked in bags. “This interim final rule is effective seven days after publication in the Federal Register”.
