Travellers who keep their vaping supplies in their checked luggage for long-haul flights are in for a wide awakening.
An article posted on Fox News states that the U.S. Transportation Department will uphold a ruling from last November to ban all battery-operated vaping devices from checked baggage. Vapers will be able to stow such devices in their carry-on luggage but will not be able to use them on flights.
With incidents in which checked luggage caught fire, Transportation Secretary Anthony Fox has made it clear that vaping devices are dangerous when left unsupervised. He went on to say that “banning e-cigarettes from checked bags is a prudent and important safety measure.”
This ruling is specific to vape devices that are controlled batteries only, as vaping devices often have sensitive firing buttons
The temporary ban that was placed on checked vaping devices is linked from a variety of incidents that have happened during flights in the past couple of years. In one instance, a passenger’s vaping device caught fire while in the cargo hold of an air plane causing passengers and the flight crew to evacuate at Logan Airport in Boston. Other incidents have included contained fires in baggage areas of major well known airports.
The Transportation Department also further clarified on the ban of vaping devices in checked baggage as well as the continued ban of vaping on planes, stating that both bans were for the safety and health of all passengers.
While the smoking of traditional cigarettes has been banned on all domestic and international flights, excluding chartered flights, since the year 2000, it has only been since March of this year that vaping was also banned. While the news is a little disappointing for international travellers, it was anticipated by the vaping community at large.
Vapers who are travelling on aircraft’s this summer will need to keep this ruling in mind when deciding where to keep their vaping devices whilst flying.