Air Freight Battery Cabinet Types

OSS/Cargo Page 13 01/01/2025 Recent and Upcoming Changes Currently, it is strongly recommended that when offered for air transport, equipment that is packed with, or contains, lithium-ion batteries, and vehicles powered by lithium-ion batteries have the batteries at a state of charge not exceeding 30% of their rated capacity.

The cabinets covered by the technical specification have been designed to contain the hermetic lead-acid electric accumulator batteries.

From 1 January 2026, lithium-ion batteries that are packed with equipment and vehicles powered by lithium ion or sodium ion batteries must be offered for air transport with the battery at a reduced state of charge, unless otherwise approved by the relevant tates (A331).S

The maximum weight is 5 kg of lithium or sodium ion batteries per package for passenger and cargo aircraft and 35 kg per package for cargo aircraft only. The net quantity shown excludes the weight of the equipment: Net Quantity per Package Passenger Aircraft Net Quantity per Package Cargo Aircraft Only

Based on the size, the batteries are rack-mounted if they are above 100 AH and used in cabinets if they are below that level. The number of battery units and the respective size of the battery determines rack or cabinet usage.

As per general principle batteries are locked in cabinets or arranged in racks that are housed in access-protected rooms. Only authorized and skilled technicians are accessible to batteries at all times. The risk posed by an open rack battery is lethal (High voltage or arc blast) and hence access should be restricted only to authorized personnel.