I believe consumer electronic and medical Lithium Ion batteries are allowed in checked luggage. Industrial and larger are not.


Lithium Batteries. When you see this term alone on SafeTravel pages, it refers to both lithium ion batteries and lithium metal batteries. Lithium polymer batteries are a typeof lithium ion battery, and are included in this term.

Lithium Ion Batteries. These are rechargeable lithium batteries, similar to those found in cameras, cell phones, laptop computers, and radio-controlled toys. Lithium polymer batteries are those types of lithium ion batteries.

Larger Lithium Ion Batteries contain between 8 and 25 grams Equivalent Lithium Content (ELC). Some very large after-market laptop computer batteries, and some batteries used for professional audio-visual application, fall within this definition.

Smaller Lithium Ion Batteries contain up to 8 grams Equivalent Lithium Content. Cell phone batteries and most laptop computer batteries fall below the 8 gram threshold.

Lithium Ion Batteries with more than 25 grams ELC are forbidden in air travel.

Lithium Metal Batteries. These cannot be recharged and are designed to be discarded once their initial charge is used up.

Larger Lithium Metal Batteries contain more than two grams of lithium, and are forbidden in air travel. (No common consumer lithium metal batteries are in the "larger" category.)

Spare Batteries. Spare batteries, also called "loose" batteries, are those not installed in equipment. A lithium ion battery inside your laptop computer is an installed battery. A battery carried separately, in case that installedbattery runs low, is a spare battery.

Watt-hour. For the purposes of this page, the watt-hour serves as an indirect measure of Equivalent Lithium Content (ELC). 8 grams ELC are about equal to 100 watt-hours.