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dontpanic42: OK, so there is a product I want to order from Australia that has a Lithium-Ion battery
http://www.todae.com.au/Products/phonesolarchargers/voltaicampsolarcharger/
however the online retailer can't air freight it to NZ due to safety restrictions with Lithium batteries and air freight. I understand that.
However, what are the actual regulations surrounding this issue?
Lithium-ion battery products when packed in bulk (not sure what "bulk" quantity is) have to go on freighter aircraft, and can't be carried on commercial aircraft as freight. They have to be declared and located in an accessible location, etc. The UPS 6 flight disaster in Dubai is rumored to have been caused by undeclared batteries in the cargo.
dontpanic42: Surely heaps of people pack their laptops into their check-in baggage which ends up in the luggage hold. And everyone has their phone on them while in the cabin, so I'm just a bit confused about these regulations.
I hope that people don't pack their laptops into their check-in baggage! The airlines all contract out of liability for valuables carried in the hold, so it's a good way for them to be stolen or broken - and travel insurance usually won't cover you in this situation either.
While you can carry batteries in cabin, many airlines place restrictions on charging the devices onboard and in some cases have asked for devices with LiOn batteries to have the battery removed; particularly during the spate of Dell etc battery, uh, combustion.
dontpanic42: Don't get me wrong, I'm all for making flying as safe as possibly, but just curious about the seemingly ambiguous nature of this rule.
Actually, come to think of it, when I ordered my Kindle (which has a Lithium-Polymer battery), it got here pretty quickly which means it would've had to have been air freighted.
I'm sure there are valid reasons, just curious to know if anyone knows the exact details
If I had to bet, it's because their usual shipping service won't accept LiOn batteries, and they don't want the hassle of dealing with one which does for a small volume of orders. It's likely to be more expensive and require filling out declarations...
