There is a common refrain in aviation: “Everybody is responsible for safety.” That’s true in theory, but when it comes to transportation of dangerous goods like lithium-ion batteries, a system built on trust also offers potentially dangerous deniability.
Cargo airlines are the last line of defense before takeoff. They are expected to flag problems, reject unsafe shipments, and mitigate risk. But as shown in a new report by UL Standards & Engagement, Rising Incidents, Shifting Responsibility: Lithium Batteries in the Cargo Supply Chain, they often have the least visibility into what they are carrying.
A Growing Issue With a Tragic History
Some shippers, especially small ones, don’t always know that the products they are shipping are potentially dangerous. And lithium-ion batteries present an increasing risk of fire in air cargo from thermal runaway, which can occur if a battery is damaged or malfunctioning. According to the ULSE report, thermal runaway incidents in air cargo rose by 40% from 2021 to 2025.
I joined ULSE after a 34-year career at UPS, much of it in air cargo safety. I remember the dangers of lithium-ion batteries being discussed as early as 2005. A tragic 2010 cargo plane crash that killed two pilots was never officially determined to have been caused by lithium-ion batteries, though they were widely suspected.
While there has been attention on the issue, and some changes have been put in place since then, the potential dangers continue to grow along with the increasing demand for these batteries.
Myriad Points of Potential Failure in a Complex Supply Chain
Lithium-ion batteries and the devices they power move through a complex web of manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, freight forwarders, postal systems, logistics providers, and retailers. Labeling and packaging errors or damage can occur at any point. When something goes wrong, one party in the chain can blame the one before it — or after it. The airline, as the one constant, becomes the focal point of enforcement pressure.
Rules for dangerous goods are not light reading. They’re like IRS tax guidance: dense, conditional, and easy to misinterpret, particularly for a small business with few resources.
Regulators increasingly rely on air carriers to police shipments and investigate shippers. Each airline builds its own oversight program, but that leads to inconsistency, inefficiency, and lingering risk.
It’s Time for Changes That Reduce the Cargo Risk
We need a strategic reset.
First and foremost, there is an urgent need to establish clear, enforceable responsibility across the supply chain. All stakeholders, from manufacturers to retailers, must understand their accountability for safe transport.
Second, we need to strengthen education and global industry coordination. Dangerous goods rules are complex, filled with “if/then” provisions. Stakeholders want guidance simplified for target groups: small shippers, distributors, wholesalers. They need to know what must be declared, how items must be packaged, and why compliance matters.
Third, we need to treat safety and cost as aligned priorities. Competitive pressures to be cheaper or faster should not erode standards. Uniform rules, standardized training, and consistent enforcement must make safety the most profitable economic choice.
This leadership must come from regulators working in close coordination with the industry at a global level.
Airlines will always play a critical safety role, but meaningful risk reduction begins long before a shipment reaches the cargo hold. Responsibility must follow visibility, and safety in the air must begin on the ground.
preguntas más frecuentes
Why are lithium-ion battery fires in air cargo particularly dangerous?
Faulty, damaged, or mishandled lithium-ion batteries can go into a state known as thermal runaway — overheating, emitting toxic gases, and potentially bursting into flames or even exploding. When multiple batteries are involved, there can be a chain reaction, and if even one malfunctions, it can ignite a massive fire. In air cargo, shipments are often inaccessible to crew, and mitigation strategies are limited, particularly during flight.
Why do cargo airlines have such little visibility into what’s inside battery shipments?
Airlines receive a general declaration about shipments they receive, but not a detailed accounting of every product in a box. Even if they know it contains electronics, they might now know whether it includes lithium-ion batteries. This is particularly true with domestic shipments, which don’t have detailed information requirements like those seen with customs forms for international shipments. In addition, some shippers don’t know they need to declare certain items.
Where in the supply chain are labeling and packaging errors most likely to occur?
The biggest challenge comes from small and medium-sized businesses that don’t have established programs to familiarize themselves with regulations and comply with them. Small businesses suffer under complex shipping regulations and sometimes do not realize until the last minute that they need to label an item or pack it in a certain way.
Why do small shippers, distributors, wholesalers, and others in the supply chain struggle with compliance?
Hazardous goods regulations are very complex and require expertise to navigate. They are dense, depend on specific conditions, and are easy to misinterpret, especially for small businesses without experts on staff. A large company shipping radioactive materials, for example, understands the regulations that apply to its industry. But some small shippers may not realize regulations regarding lithium-ion batteries exist or that they need to comply with them.
What challenges need to be overcome in order to make international shipping safer?
The supply chain has multiple players, including parts suppliers, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, shipping companies, cargo airlines and others. Each has a part to play, and there needs to be accountability to ensure they all fulfill their responsibilities. Regulations are extremely complex, and they need to be made available in a form everyone can understand, from huge corporations with compliance departments down to small businesses shipping limited quantities of products. Finally, maintaining accuracy in the “chain of custody” of data, labeling, packaging, and information (like the level of charge on a lithium-ion battery) is very complicated. Accurate data is essential and that process must be improved.
