LSCC Looks To Ensure Sports Productions Avoid Issues Related to Battery Bans

Lithium batteries on airplanes is an issue that has gained increasing attention this past year. When Congress and regulators started on the issue, their conversations were mostly limited to the passenger-cargo hold, where broadcast and production-related equipment is stowed during shipment. But the recent release of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, the battery recall, and safety concerns have put the issue front and center in Washington and beyond.

Samsung batteries on the new 7 Note are causing all lithium batteries to be under more scrutiny.

Samsung’s efforts to recall the phones have not prevented airlines from taking precautions to keep passengers safe by either banning the device altogether or making passengers who carry the Note 7 shut them off entirely while on the plane. Anyone flying in recent weeks most likely heard explicit warnings from the flight attendant to “please turn off your Samsung Galaxy device prior to pushback from the gate.”

With increasing mainstream news coverage of the Samsung fiasco — and most media outlets directly blaming lithium batteries – there is little doubt that public attitudes toward shipping these batteries on passenger planes will soon change. And, when public opinions change, policy and lawmakers’ opinions change. Inflated public reaction generally leads to unsound policy by both Congress and the overactive regulatory regime — and this industry does not want to see batteries banned on airplanes.

That is one of the reasons SVG has become involved with the Logistics Supply Chain Coalition, of which I am the executive director. If you want to make sure that your business practices are safe from knee-jerk regulation that could impact your logistics channels, I encourage you to contact me to figure out how we can continue to expand the presence of the sports-production community in Washington, DC. We need to let Congress know that this industry responsibly follows safety regulations and that it should not be punished for others’ mistakes. Now is the time for the industry to come together.

For more information on how to get involved, please contact me at [email protected].