Why are there now limitations on flying with batteries?

Question

What risk do batteries pose in an airplane? Why were these restrictions placed on batteries?

Answer 1

See article below.  You CAN carry lithium batteries in carry-on luggage...or buy them when you reach your destination.     Other batteries just need to be in their original package, or bagged separately...really no trouble at all.  And you can always buy batteries when you reach your destination.

Answer 2

To keep things short & simple:

I can easily short circuit a lithium battery to create a mini bomb.

That's the problem with batteries.

They're banned? I never knew that.  Cause I can do the same with my laptop battery.

And if they're Sony batteries, you don't need to rig them, they blow up on their own.

Answer 3

Some rechargeable batteries have been known to overheat and catch fire (or even explode) under certain conditions.

Lithium batteries can explode if they are shorted out, so they have long been restricted on airplanes.  The small consumer lithium batteries have built-in overcurrent protection and are safe, but some other types of lithium batteries designed for industrial and heavy-duty use don't have these protections and present an explosion risk if they are accidentally shorted out.  Unlike most other types of chemical batteries, single-use lithium batteries can discharge all of their energy in a fraction of a second if they are shorted, causing them to overheat and explode, and that's the problem.

As for other restrictions beyond these legitimate ones, they would most likely be just for show, part of a great many "security" procedures in aviation today that have no legitimate purpose.