SLM also bans self balancing scooters

In order to prevent explosions of self balancing equipment that ‘feed’ on lithium batteries, Suriname’s national carrier, Surinam Airways (SLM) on Thursday issued a ban on them. This means that passengers are not allowed to take them onboard of SLM planes. The SLM has also started distributing safety alert folders to inform people of the ban. The folders clearly state that hoverboards, self balancing steps (scooters), gravity boards and e-skates are not allowed on flights of the SLM because they contain lithium batteries. The company also pointed out that lithium batteries could overheat and catch fire in case of a manufacturing fault, damage or when people do not use or store them properly. Such a fire can’t be extinguished easily but could only be put out with a category D fire extinguisher or with a fire extinguisher of another type or category. Lithium batteries have been categorized as dangerous items and should therefore be treated as such. The SLM recently issued a ban on Galaxy Note 7 smartphones. The ban was issued in response to foreign reports about a series of incidents concerning this type of smartphone. Andy Vliese, manager at the Public Relations (PR) Office of the SLM, pointed out that the Federal Aviation Administration and foreign airliners such as KLM, Alitalia, Air Canada and Singapore Airlines have already taken the measure as a safety precaution.