FAA Institutes New Bans on Laptop and Gadget Batteries on Planes

Fisrt the airlines are goning to put WiFi on the planes because it was determined that laptop computers did NOT effect the aircrafts instruments. Then they were going to allow cellphones to be used in flight also. Now they are restricting the batteries. And as for lithium, what if a traveler is taking lithium medications? Do they leave thier medications home too? The lithium battery problem is NOT the lithium but, in fact, how the batteries were manufactured. It could happen with any battery.

The Value Jet went down because of defective OXYGEN CANISTERS in the cargo area. NOT batteries.

Lithium batteries are shipped on aircraft everyday in the cargo hold. I used to pick up thousands of laptop computers that Sony shipped in from overseas thru O'Hare Field in Chicago that went to thier distribution centers across the nation. In the 2 years I did that work we had NO incidents of ANY problems.

Is this the same government that said not to use cell phones near gas pumps even though there was never a recorded case of a cell phone causing a fire?

Keep the towelheads off the flights and you'll see how much safer we'll all be.

The article says you can't "check it" but you CAN bring it in your carry-on. It also doesn't say you can't use a laptop while flying. What doesn't make sense is that then it's more of a risk to the people seated near your carry-on or next to your working device. Is this about them exploding in the cargo hold because of heat/cold and pressure fluctuations? The article doesn't say it's part of terrorism scares or anything - it's that the batteries explode. Cell phone batteries explode easily if exposed to static electricity... maybe it has to do with how icy cold the cargo area is and how much static there could be with all of the bags rubbing eachother? The article is too vague, but for the safety of the passengers it initially sounds good. Who needs 3 or 4 laptop backups anyway? Doesn't anyone carry a charger with them anymore?

For one thing flying coach is not fun...Theory is the airlines were losing money on folks watching their own movies and not getting the additional two dollars for the headsets...Glad someone clarified that it was extra batteries otherwise the TSA folks would have us remove our batteries and dispose of them with the toothpaste.

flight from houston has to make an emergency landing in colorado when man's air purifier catches on fire. all of the fire extinguishers where completly used up. the fire burned two passengers and the seats they where in. the flight attendants where extremely scared,but mostly suprised by how hard it was to put the fire out. the lithium battery is what caused the fire and put up alot of resistance to being put out. fire and smoke on an airplane are extremely dangerous. it doesn't take long for the fire to get away from you and getinto places that you can't reach to put out. if you have a problem with not being able to bring these batteries on the plane then you need to address the companies who manufacture them

How come the liquids that may be potential hazards are thrown into a trash can surrounded by people and not a bomb safe container. How threatening can they really be??

Just don't take my knitting and books from me and all is good. I could be seriously dangerous on a flight if I didn't have something to do. Small children would likely be the first to pay, then the over-cologned, the under-bathed, those with halitosis, teenagers, and anyone who reclines their damn seat on my lap.

And omg! What about breast implants? And then, "water bras" with small pads filled with water or gel, not to mention "silicon" uplifts women can place inside bras for more cleavage! This is more than ridiculous. I'm just going to drive the darn five to 10 hours instead of being strip searched, as a US born, loyal American citizen. I feel for the older people who struggle with their bad knees, taking of their shoes and putting them back on. What next? It's not worth it any longer. I wasn't permitted my 2 ounces of contact solution during a 5 hour flight, because I had to choose between that and prescription eyedrops. It was lovely when my contact lenses were literaly STUCK to my eyes and were so dry, one actually cracked inside of my eye. These things are not hitting the realistic situations which are problematic.

They need to stop all this crap. I have a friend who is 78 and flies from Uk every 3-4 months to Florida where he has owned a second home for 20 years. He is not a well man and take medication as a lot of people his age do and is a diabetic. On his last three flights in he has been stopped and detained in a room for over 2-3 hours and even cavity searced on one of those times. They would not say why, he letters from doctors for all his medication and all labels were correct yet still no explanation of why. He was left on one occassion in a room for 4 hours and they wouldnt let him take his insulin or get something to eat when he said he felt unwell. Each time they just gave him his stuff back and said ok you can go, thats it. OK I SEE HERE THAT WE ARE REALLY DOING GOOD FOR OUR SAFETY HERE.
Meanwhile the bad guys and the drugs etc still keep coming in while they pick on old men like this. He is now so scared of what will happen each time he flies back that he is thinking of selling up. His wife just died and loved coming here and now we are taking away his rights to do something he loved all these years FOR WHAT????

brian, not of us can sit with nothing to do for a boring 4 or 5 hours,we are used to being busy,not lazy.as for robert,you are a drama queen,shutup and do your job.

Aiport security doesn't work - period. Their own people have proved that on several occasions, when doing tests on the efficiency of their security, TSA workers have boarded planes with all kinds of contraband.
So the only thing airport security is doing is aggravating everyone by conviscating passengers' lethal weapons - like peanut butter and mandarin oranges!