What's happening
This bill bans the transport of lithium and lithium metal batteries as cargo on aircraft departing New York airports, with limited exceptions for personal electronic devices kept in the passenger cabin.
Why it matters
Addresses fire safety risks. Lithium and lithium metal batteries are known to pose a significant fire hazard if damaged, short-circuited, or improperly packaged—especially in aircraft cargo holds where fires are harder to detect and suppress. The bill aims to reduce the potential for catastrophic in-flight fires.
Impacts supply chains and commerce. By banning the shipment of these batteries as cargo from New York airports, the bill could disrupt businesses that rely on air transport for electronics manufacturing, repair, or distribution, potentially increasing costs and logistical complexity.
Limits passenger inconvenience. The bill allows personal electronics (phones, tablets, laptops) with lithium batteries to remain in the passenger cabin, balancing safety with the practical need for travelers to carry their essential devices.
Sets a precedent for state-level aviation regulation. New York’s move could pressure other states or even federal agencies to reconsider lithium battery transport rules, possibly sparking broader regulatory changes in aviation safety standards.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Ban Lithium Batteries on Planes
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 32
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to transportation
- Referred to transportation
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1700
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 15, 2019
Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation
AN ACT to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting the transport of lithium and lithium metal batteries on all aircraft
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The general business law is amended by adding a new section 244 to read as follows:
§ 244. Lithium battery ban. No aircraft departing from a New York airport shall be permitted to transport, as cargo, lithium or lithium metal batteries. Only lithium or lithium metal batteries in cellular devices or computers including tablets and laptops, shall be permitted on such aircraft under certain circumstances. Such circumstances include when the lithium or lithium metal battery remains in such device and is kept within the passenger cabin. No device containing a lithium or lithium metal battery shall be stored within the cargo hold or any other area of the aircraft.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07064-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the general business law, in relation to prohibiting the transport of lithium and lithium metal batteries on all aircraft
Purpose or general idea of bill
This purpose of this bill is to protect pilots and passengers from aircraft accidents involving fires started by lithium.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1. Prohibits any aircraft departing from a New York airport to transport Lithium batteries as cargo. The only exception to this being the lithium or lithium metal found in cell phones.
Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
Difference between original and amended version
N/A
Justification
Lithium and lithium metal batteries pose a grave danger to our pilots and passengers on aircrafts. Research has shown time after time that lithium batteries can self-ignite when damages, defective, or exposed to a heat source. The transportation of these batteries puts our pilots in compromising positions where they may be traveling with cargo that could potentially down an aircraft. The threat is especially important because fires involving lithium batteries are unresponsive to halon, the tradi- tional extinguishing agent used aboard aircraft. This means that in cases when fires start, they plane needs to come down in able to put it out because FAA testing has shown that they burn incredibly hot.
This is not an isolated incident, we have seen with Boeing's 787 "Dream- liner" during a 2013 rollout. The Federal Aviation Administration discovered several incidents with battery transportation. Fires are a huge expense and become an economic burden on aircrafts and insurance companies in our state. This bill will function not only as a safety net for the American public, but also as a preemptive fiscally responsible policy to stop preventable aircraft fires.
Prior legislative history
A.8442 of 2018, referred to Transportation A.9616 of 2016, referred to Transportation
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:r A
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.