Today I had the honour of presenting findings of some lithium battery test purchases from TEMU to the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (IFALPA), at their annual Dangerous Goods Committee Meeting in Washington D.C. The results are shocking.
Lithium batteries, when shipped as cargo, are considered dangerous goods and require correct packing, marking & labelling and documentation. The person preparing the shipment requires training. A standard airline surcharge for dangerous goods is in the region of $80.00 to $100.00.
So how is it possible to purchase lithium batteries from a company based in China for under $5.00 and have these shipped by air to the UK for free? With careful planning, deliberate misdeclaration and plenty of practice.
A test purchase of seven different lithium batteries was made from seven different suppliers in China. Eleven days later, all seven batteries arrived in the same jiffy bag delivered by Evri. There were no marks and labels, incorrect packaging, no documentation and nothing to indicate it contained dangerous goods. TEMU tracking clearly shows the journey by air. This is wilful disregard for International Regulations and a significant risk to flight safety.
EVRI – You delivered this!
A report was filed with the UK Civil Aviation Authority four months ago, with no feedback apart from the automated reply with the reference number for the report – DGOR-2026-1357.
PLEASE will someone act before we have another aviation disaster?
