Regulations
What's changing in 2027?
So far in IATA, Material changes include:
- Passenger power banks: limited to two; lithium-ion power banks exceeding 100 Wh are forbidden. The general spare-battery allowance reduces from 20 to 18 because power banks are now treated separately.
- Mobility aids: additional operator controls where installed lithium-ion batteries exceed 300 Wh; spare batteries are limited to 300 Wh per device.
- Operator approvals: strengthened procedures, passenger information and fire-risk consideration for articles requiring operator approval.
- New entries: UN 3561 and UN 3562 chlorophenols, UN 3563 lithium-metal batteries installed in cargo transport units and UN 3564 sodium-ion batteries installed in cargo transport units.
- Hybrid batteries: new classification provisions for batteries combining lithium-ion and sodium-ion cells.
- Infectious substances: recognition that competent public-health bodies may provide additional classification guidance during emerging-health situations.
- Excepted quantities: clarified as applying to substances, not articles.
- Packing instructions: extensive changes, particularly for sodium-ion and prototype batteries.
- Battery mark: the former version containing a telephone-number field has been phased out. However, IATA expressly says its presence should not alone justify rejecting a package.
- Overpacks: clarified that not every underlying package marking must be duplicated; the battery mark must share the surface carrying other hazard labels where both are required.
- Passenger tables: Table 2.3.A has been reorganised into separate tables for articles requiring approval, not requiring approval and forbidden articles. The forbidden-items table is described as transitional until the 70th Edition. iata.org