Australia bans airmailing of LiPos

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Well I've been building and flying or driving radio controlled models for over 40 years and during that time I like to think I've built up a reasonable amount of knowledge.

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Australia bans airmail shipping of LiPos

NO MORE CHEAP LIPOS FOR THE AUSSIES?

31 July 2009
Australian RC fliers who used to import their own LiPo batteries from sources outside the country will be reeling from news that Australia Post has now banned the carriage of lithium polymer batteries by air.

With local distributors imposing stiff mark-ups, many Australian modellers have been importing their batteries directly from cut-price suppliers in China and Hong Kong but now that option may have effectively been cut-off.

Australia Post says they will not be accepting any shipments that contain lipo batteries due to safety concerns.

The postal service says that packages containing lithium batteries will be rejected because air carriers are now scanning all mail for the presence of "dangerous goods", something that lipos are now classified as.

Although it's not 100% clear what will happen to any packages containing lithium batteries that successfully reach Australia's shores by airmail, it is possible that they will be held by customs or be delayed as they continue their journey by road transport.

One thing is for sure, Australians won't be able to send anything other than very small lipos by airmail and should refer to this PDF document for more information.

It is expected that other countries may follow suit in banning the personal shipment of lithium polymer batteries by airmail.

One Reseller's Reaction

As an interesting sidebar to this story, a link to it was deleted from the HobbyCity website and I received the following private message from "Jason"

Sent by : Jason5001
Sent : 31 Jul 2009 at 10:20am

Please remove your post regarding Lithium Polymer battery shipping by air. Not only is it incorrect, it's misleading and carries are entrepreneurial undertone.

Thanks.

So just how accurate is this story?

Well I see that other reputable tech-news sites are now also carrying articles on the issue: ZDNet Gizmodo

An Australian responded to the news when posted to RCGroups with this comment: "that explains why i have not received my lipo's from china"

Here is another interesting post from someone who claims to have first-hand knowledge on the subject of China Post and lipo shipping.

And here is the answer Australia Post is giving when asked about the fate of lipos imported directly from overseas by airmail to Australia"

From a post to RCGroups by an Australian:
"called australia post and yes they have a ban on lipo batteries of large size. mine would have been stopped at customs and destroyed (could they not send a letter??). they are just following the civil aviation authority regulations with what is labeled dangerous"

So, what was HobbyCity's motive for pulling the post from its forums?

It has been suggested to me that part of the reason may be that the LiPo battery pictured at the top of this story contains a competitor's branding.

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