The certification aims to improve safety in handling and transporting lithium batteries with both the airline and ground handler playing a key role in designing and implementing the programme and its continued fine-tuning and adaption.
Calling passenger and cargo safety its utmost concern at all times, Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive of Qatar Airways Group says the airline has been advocating for proper regulation for transporting lithium batteries.
He says, “We are happy to be the second airline to be certified and we encourage all air industry players to become certified. As an industry, we must focus on active risk prevention and that is achieved through strict regulation, training, and compliance.”
Guillaume Halleux, Chief Officer Cargo at Qatar Airways Cargo, says that lithium batteries play an important role in our daily lives but pose a huge safety risk, something that the airline has been highlighting and working to resolve.
He says, “We are happy to see this now starting to happen with air cargo industry companies voluntarily undergoing CEIV Lithium Battery certification.”
Halleux adds, “Our plan now is to work with our global partners, ground handlers, shippers, and freighter forwarders, to ensure a solid and common understanding of the risks of moving lithium batteries, and to drive positive change in the industry.”
To improve safety, Qatar Airways Cargo has upgraded its ULD fleet to Safran Cabin’s Fire-Resistant Containers, which are designed to resist a lithium-based fire for up to 6 hours.
By the end of last year, 9,000 ULDs had been replaced and the exchange will continue throughout 2023.