United boosts Newark in East Coast juggling act

United Airlines is boosting its already strong hub at New York’s Newark Liberty International Airport as part of changes to US East Coast schedules affecting about two dozen routes.

The airline is expanding services between the New York metropolitan airport and 17 destinations as it also builds up its hub at Washington Dulles International Airport.

From October, it promises, there will be new destinations, additional frequencies, and bigger, two-cabin aircraft at each hub.

Read: United opens San Francisco Polaris lounge as roll-out accelerates.

Frequencies will rise on flights from Newark to 15 destinations already served by United. But non-stop services to Baltimore, Des Moines, Fort Wayne, Indiana and Hartford, Connecticut will be dropped.

“We approached these schedule adjustments with our customers in mind, knowing that we wanted to create a schedule that offers customers beginning their travel in the New York City area convenient flights to many of the business and leisure destinations they frequent the most,” said Ankit Gupta, United’s Vice President of Domestic Network.

“Since more of our customers begin their travel from New York/Newark than any other United hub city, we’ve created a more customer friendly schedule that removed connection times and provided convenient nonstop service to multiple U.S. destinations.”

The changes also see some “largely connecting” passenger flights shifted from Newark to Dulles.

These involve short flights to Chattanooga, Tennessee and Ithaca in New York state and a service to Scranton, Pennsylvania.

READ our ratings for United.

Gupta said the airline determined that shifting the flights to Dulles would give customers more schedule flexibility and better options for connection to regional routes.

There will be increased frequencies on flights from Newark to 15 destinations already serviced by United.

These include Burlington, Vermont; Charleston South Carolina; Greensboro, North Carolina; New Orleans; Memphis; Nashville; Phoenix; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; San Antonio, Texas; and Norfolk, Virginia.

Florida gets a big boost with increased services to Fort Lauderdale, Fort Meyers, Orlando, Sarasota and West Palm Beach.

A new seasonal service will also run from December 19 to March 30 between Newark and Palm Springs, California while seasonal regional jet services to Key West, Florida will become year-round.

Asia-Pacific carriers buoyed by global economy

Steve Creedy

The future continues to look rosy for Asia-Pacific airlines after their combined net earnings climbed by almost a third in 2017 to $US8.8 billion despite rising costs.

The 31.6 percent increase in 2017 net earnings came as business and leisure travel demand was boosted by broad growth in the global economy and moderate capacity expansion supported airline yields.

At the same time, combined operating costs rose 8.7 percent and fuel costs rose by 19.6 percent to $US40.6 billion as global jet fuel prices averaged $US65.40 a barrel.

Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) director general Andrew Herdman predicted the region’s carriers would continue to benefit from the growth in the global economy as he released an overview or the 2017 financial performance.

“Business activity is expected to remain relatively robust whilst increased consumer spending should underpin further growth in passenger travel and continue to support air cargo demand in the coming months,” Herdman said.

“Overall, Asian airlines continue to evolve in the face of changing market dynamics, implementing measures to increase efficiency and carefully control operating costs whilst seeking opportunities to maximize revenue.”

“In addition, the region’s airlines remain focused on enhancing business performance through increased investments in new technologies and modern fuel-efficient aircraft.”

AAPA attributed an 8.6 percent growth in passenger traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometres, to the widespread availability of affordable airfares and continued network expansions.

READ JAL plans to launch new low-cost carrier.

Combined passenger revenue for Asia-pacific airlines grew 6 percent to $US135.6 billion but competition saw a marginal 1 percent falling passenger yields to 7.9 US cents per RPK.

Air cargo markets, which saw a 9.6 percent jump in cargo traffic measured in freight tonne kilometres, were buoyed by an increase in global trade.

Herdman said the results were underpinned by strong growth in both air passenger and cargo volumes, and higher average load factors.

“Nevertheless, the region’s airlines continued to face some significant headwinds in the form of stiff competition, and increased cost pressures from markedly higher fuel prices and rising labour costs,’’ he said.

“Reflecting the highly competitive business environment, the average operating margin was 6.6 per cent for the year, with net profits of just over $US6 per passenger.”

Cathay Pacific Airways expands its wings

Geoffrey Thomas

cathay mixed fortunes — A Cathay Pacific A330. Photo: Cathay Pacific.

Cathay Pacific is beefing up its network in Europe, the US and China as it offers passengers from Australia more options than ever before.

The Hong Kong carrier is no stranger to Australian shores — its long-standing relationship began in 1946 when the airline’s founders, Australian Syd de Kantzow and American Roy Farrell, flew into Sydney in a DC-3 called Betsy.

Today, it has over 70 flights a week from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Cairns with excellent connections to a network of more than 200 destinations over its Hong Kong hub.

This year sees a flurry of new non-stop routes from Cathay’s Hong Kong base to interesting new destinations such as Brussels. , Dublin and Copenhagen, bringing the number of directly served destinations in Europe to 13.

The new routes are part of the carrier’s strategy to expand its network using next-generation aircraft such as the Airbus A350 and, when it arrives early next decade, the Boeing 777-9X.

The A350 features Cathay’s newest seats and cabin design, including 38 lie-flat Business Class seats with direct aisle access and plenty of space as well as 28 Premium Economy Class seats with a 40-inch seat pitch.

The new European routes follow the airline’s move in 2017 to start new services to Tel Aviv (five times weekly) and Christchurch (three times weekly). It also started a seasonal service to Barcelona.

Already underway from the 2018 roster are four-times-weekly flights to Brussels and a move to ramp up Barcelona to four-times weekly flights using A350-900.

Dublin starts June 2, also four times a week, while three-times weekly flights to Copenhagen started May 2.

Early morning arrival times at European destinations allow travelers to arrive rested and ready to explore.

Read Cathay Pacific’s Safety and Product rating

The expanded European network meets customer demand for non-stop travel while giving European passengers better access to key destinations in Asia and Southwest Pacific, according to Cathay chief executive Rupert Hogg.

“These are all fantastic destinations and attract business and leisure travelers from the world over,’’ says Hogg.

“We listened to our customers’ demands for more options and greater flexibility and have responded by building direct air links with these great cities.

“Growing our reach to new destinations that aren’t served from Hong Kong boosts the city’s status as Asia’s largest international hub and enables us to capture new and important sources of revenue.”

In the US, Cathay will start direct services to Washington, DC, for the first time using its new Airbus A350-1000s.

Cathay Pacific Business Class on the A350.

The service to Dulles International Airport will be the longest in the Cathay network at 7,085 nautical miles (8,153 miles or 13,122kms) and is again part of a strategy for next generation aircraft.

“Much like Hong Kong, Washington DC is a vibrant and dynamic destination and we are thrilled to soon be providing the only direct flights between these two great cities,’’ says Hogg.

The new Washington route will complement existing routes to the East Coast, including Boston and New York’s two main international airports – John F Kennedy and Newark Liberty.

It brings the airline’s North American destinations to eight, including two in Canada and the airline’s renowned trans-polar flight between Hong Kong and New York.

Also in the pipeline for 2018 is a seasonal service to Cape Town.

Meanwhile, Cathay Dragon has been boosting its already impressive network into China with new services to Nanning from January and Jinan from March, both operated by two-class Airbus A320 aircraft.

Cathay Pacific chief customer and commercial officer Paul Loo says the airline is committed to expanding its Chinese network.

“Our aim is to always provide our customers with the highest level of products and services – both on the ground and in the air – and to offer greater convenience and a superior flying experience,” he says.

Following this is also the most recent announcement of a new four-times-weekly service to Davao City in the Philippines and a three-times-weekly service to Medan in Indonesia, both launching in October. This brings the total number of new destinations across Cathay’s global network to nine this year, a record expansion for the Cathay Pacific Group.

Video shows Asiana A330 taking out A321’s tail.

Steve Creedy

Asian Turkish collision — The remains of the A321's vertical stabilizer. Image: atabek.aviation.

Graphic video has emerged of an Asiana A330-300 heading for Seoul destroying the tail of a Turkish Airlines A321 in a collision at Istanbul-Atatürk International Airport.

According to preliminary information from the Aviation Safety Network, the Airbus A321 had arrived from Ercan in Northern Cyprus Sunday and turned towards the gate, stopping about 30 metres from its intended parking position.

The Airbus A330 was taxiing along taxiway G to the runway on its way to Seoul.

While taxiing past the A321, the right had wing tip carved through the A321’s vertical stabilizer, knocking it over completely.

The A330s wingtip was also seriously damaged.

Firefighters subsequently doused the A321 as a precautionary measure.

This is the second incident in which an Asiana jet has seriously damaged the tail of another aircraft.

WATCH Scary take-off?

An Asiana Boeing 747-400 sliced into the tail of an Aeroflot Ilyushin IL-62M in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1998.

The left outboard engine of the 747-400 struck the left wingtip of the Ilyushin before the left wingtip became embedded in the vertical stabilizer.

asiana Turkish accident tail — The 1998 accident in Alaska. Image: Paul Martel/KTUU-TV

Australia mulls mandatory registration for drones as incidents rise

Steve Creedy

Australia’s safety regulator wants to introduce mandatory registrations for all drones weighing more than 250 gms and require recreational users to take an online safety test.

The moves come as the number of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) is increasing rapidly, with industry estimates there are now “well in excess of 150,000” in Australia, and fears one will hit a manned aircraft are rising.

That hasn’t yet happened in Australia but the air safety investigators say there were 11 reported close calls in January this year alone.

In 2017, there were 151 RPA near encounters with manned aircraft, 72 of which occurred within 20 nautical miles of Sydney Airport.

This compared with 127 incidents reported in the previous four years.

Air New Zealand in March called for jail time for people who recklessly endanger lives with remotely piloted aircraft after a drone came so close to one of its Boeing 777s the crew was worried it had been ingested by one of the engines.

READ: Near miss prompts AirNZ call to jail reckless drone users

While the Civil Aviation Safety Authority favors exempting drones weighing less than 250gms from mandatory registration, it says it is still looking at whether small drones traveling at high speeds can harm humans.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has proposed alternative limit based on kinetic energy of 80 joules that takes into account both a drone’s mass and its speed.

CASA says it understands EASA’s rationale but it wants to follow moves in the US and other jurisdictions to exclude the sub-250gm drones.

“However, before doing so CASA intends to complete further research to determine if RPA weighing 250 grams or less and capable of transferring sufficient kinetic energy to cause serious injury when impacting with a human,’’ it said in a report released Friday.

The report argues drone registration should be simple and costs should be based on an aircraft ’s weight and how it is used. This would see commercial operators pay more than recreational users.

The authority favors requiring users to re-register after three years for recreational users and shorter period for commercial operators.

Users will also need to verify their identity using documents such as driver’s license or passport, meaning younger people will need to have their registration completed in the name of a parent or guardian.

The report says benefits to introducing an RPA registration system would assist data gathering on drones, allow it to better target education and provide a disincentive to operate the aircraft unlawfully.

Registration would be an important element in the safe integration of remotely piloted aircraft into Australia’s airspace.

It points to technologies such as electronic identification where an RPA emits a unique identifier code linked to the user in the registration process.

“An application of this technology would potentially permit a law enforcement officer to detect the RPA unique identification code of an RPA that may be operating unlawfully, by using a hand-held device,’’ it says “The unique identification code could then be matched to an RPA registration holder, using a secure interface to the RPA registration database to determine who the RPA registration holder is.”

Recreational drone users may also face a simple online course on safe recreational operations followed by a quiz with a minimum pass mark.

CASA said it recognized many recreational and excluded operators flew lawfully and had a sound understanding of the rules.

It was also aware that many of the more than 900 people who contributed to its review did not support training and demonstrated proficiency for small/recreational drones.

“However, through CASA’s investigation of RPA related incidents and complaints, it is evident that there is an increasing number of RPA operators who are unaware of the legislation about the category of operation (i.e. commercial or recreational) they are undertaking, or who have a poor understanding of the RPA legislation, or have interpreted it incorrectly,” it said.

The agency acknowledged the advantages of geo-fencing, where technology such as the Global Positioning System combines with onboard software to create a “no-go” boundary around sensitive areas such as airports.

“We recognize, however, that the technology requires further development and broad adoption by manufacturers before a mandatory standard can be contemplated,’’ it said.

A separate review into drone safety is being conducted by the Australian Senate and CASA boss Shane Carmody has said the authority would take this and the government’s response into account before making any final decisions on regulatory change.

The authority expects to have an RPAS roadmap completed by the end of 2018 that will cover issues such as airspace integration, unmanned traffic management, detect and avoid technology as well as airworthiness and maintenance.

Huge response to Qantas pilot school as more than 12,500 apply

Steve Creedy

Air travel may have become routine but a strong response to a proposed Qantas pilot academy shows aviation still has a strong hold on the imagination of young people.

More than 12,500 aspiring pilots, 15 percent of them women, have registered an interest in attending the academy so far.

And that’s before it’s even built.

“This response is encouraging when you look at the projected growth of the industry, with estimates that the world will need more than 640,000 more pilots in the next 20 years,’’ Qantas Group Pilot Academy Executive Manager Wes Nobelius said.

“It’s a promising sign for the future of Australian aviation to see so many men and women wanting to take up a career as a Qantas Group pilot.

“The proportion of women who have registered their interest is also significant for a profession that currently has a global average of 3 percent female representation and puts us on track to reach our goal under the Nancy Bird Walton initiative to reach at least 40 per cent women in our pilot intakes in ten years’ time.”

READ: Virgin gender target takes off

The airline announced the initiative on February 22 as a way of helping it cope with future growth in an environment where competition for pilots is increasing and airlines in high-growth markets such as China are offering lucrative deals to attract foreign talent.

Qantas on Friday put out more details of what requirements airports will need to meet to put forward a formal proposal to host the $A20-million academy. More than 40 regional centers have so far expressed interest in becoming home to the facility.

It will initially train 100 pilots a year but has the potential to grow to a 500-student operation by training pilots for other operations.

The airline is looking for a regional center with an airfield, access to uncongested airspace and the appropriate infrastructure and support.

Qantas has made no secret of the fact it will be seeking incentive packages to help it set up the academy and Nobelius said the company was pleased with the response to the proposal.

There had already been positive talks the governments and state leaders, he said.

“The process will be very competitive and although there can only be one academy, we’re encouraging every region to put their best case forward.”

Applicants will need a minimum runway length of 1300m, lighting for night and reduced visibility operations and fuel tanker refueling. There would also need to be hangars and covered facilities to accommodate maintenance and parking for up to 30 aircraft with the ability to grow to 50 aircraft.

Watch spectacular landings and take-offs in high winds.

The weather will have to be good too, with a minimum of 300 flying days, and there will need to be access to controlled and uncontrolled airspace, preferably with an air traffic control tower.

Also on the menu: high tech teaching facilities and modern student accommodation.

Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce said at the airline’s February annual results that he saw the potential for the school to be “one of the biggest, if not the biggest, in the southern hemisphere.’’

The airline Friday also released a study estimating the carrier contributed more than $A5 billion to the economy in regional Australia in financial year 2017.

This included more than $A800m in direct contributions through value added by its regional operations and more than 1000 direct jobs, including pilots and cabin crew, and almost 5000 jobs supported indirectly through the supply chain.

About $450 million was spent with more than 1200 suppliers based in regional Australia.

Another 36,000 jobs were supported by the airline’s involvement in the tourism industry and its $A4 billion contribution to the regional economy.

The Qantas Group network services 48 regional centres across 73 regional routes.

Airfares would triple if passengers continue to ignore safety directions

Geoffrey Thomas

Airfares would have to triple if authorities were to re-regulate the passenger capacity of planes based on the actual speed of emergency evacuations.

Planes are certified to be evacuated in just 90 seconds but it is taking at least three times longer due to passengers refusing to follow instructions to leave their bags behind.

This was highlighted once again on Tuesday when many passengers took their carry-on baggage with them during an emergency evacuation of Delta Air Lines flight DL1854 at Denver Airport.

DL 1854, an MD90, was a flight from Detroit and passengers reported smoke during the taxi in after landing shortly after 8 pm.

In a statement Delta said:

After arrival in Denver and during taxi to the gate, Delta Flight 1854 from Detroit to Denver stopped on a taxiway where customers deplaned via slides and over-wing exits due to an observance of smoke in the cabin. Airport response vehicles met the aircraft out of an abundance of caution and customers were transported to the terminal via buses. The safety of Delta’s customers and crew is our top priority and we apologize for the concern this situation has caused.

WATCH: Reach for the sickbag

Passengers Rachel Naftel tweeted: “Scariest thing. After landing fumes through the vents and fire. Feeling faint and sick. Baby was last one out!!! Emergency evacuation. Scariest thing ever.”

Airfares would triple if passengers dont stop takeing their bags off in an emergency — Passengers take their carry-on with them during the Delta evacuation.

Passengers are risking their lives, and those of fellow passengers, with the obsession of taking cabin baggage with them in an emergency.

READ UK report slams seat spacing

In the evacuation certification tests, the “passengers” are aircraft manufacturer employees who know the drill and they have no baggage.

If regulators were to re-certify the long-range Boeing 777 to the reality of what actually happens, the 550 exit limit aircraft would have to be recertified to just 183 passengers – half its typical load.

But for smaller aircraft such as the widely used A320 – and Boeing 737 – which has an exit limit of 195 and a typical configuration of 180 mostly economy passengers the impact would be devastating with a new limit of just 65.

That would mean a tripling of airfares to make the aircraft economically viable.

The impact on the industry and the world economy would be devastating but something needs to be done before hundreds die in an aircraft evacuation.

The airline industry needs to take decisive action, perhaps by locking overhead lockers for takeoff and landing, to prevent passengers taking their baggage with them after a plane crash.

Or an extreme measure would be to ban carry-on baggage other than a small bag such as a backpack.

It is sobering to consider that it quite often takes 40 minutes to board a plane because of passenger/ baggage congestion.

Not only does taking your baggage dramatically slow the process, there’s a distinct possibility that the bags with protruding metal parts will snag and then deflate the escape slides — rendering them useless.

And in the scramble to get overstuffed bags out of lockers, passengers may be knocked out and the aisle blocked for precious seconds.

There is also the very real prospect of passengers jumping on to the escape slide with their bag and knocking themselves or another passenger out, or even killing them.

Tragically, it will take a disastrous evacuation with multiple deaths for the industry to act

Probe into safety oversight of American, Allegiant.

Steve Creedy

American miami boost — Photo: American Airlines

Regulatory oversight of maintenance at US carriers American and Allegiant is being put under the microscope by the US Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General.

The OIG in 2017 announced that it would look at the Federal Aviation Administration’s oversight of airline maintenance after a review was sought by politicians.

The audit looked at whether the FAA considered factors such as mergers, rapid expansion and cost-cutting initiatives in its oversight of carrier maintenance.

The office initially planned to look at maintenance across the industry but said in a memorandum released Wednesday that it would concentrate on the two carriers it visited during initial audit work.

READ: American ups the ante in the Caribbean

It said the initial audit had found the FAA had moved its oversight strategy from emphasizing enforcement to working with carriers to address the root causes of carrier’s failure to comply with safety regulations.

It also found airline maintenance programs were affected by differences in fleet mix.

Given these factors and an analysis of complaints to the FAA hotline about maintenance practices at American and Allegiant, it said the OIG had decided to “refocus” the next phase of the audit.

“Our objectives now are to assess FAA’s processes for investigating allegations of improper maintenance practices at two carriers, Allegiant Airlines and American Airlines,’’ it said.

“Specifically, we will (1) examine FAA’s independent reviews, complaints to the FAA hotline, and other sources to see whether inspectors conducting routine surveillance of Allegiant and American Airlines found similar discrepancies and (2) determine whether FAA ensures that Allegiant and American Airlines implement effective corrective actions to address the root causes of maintenance problems. “

American told CNBC it was shocked to learn of the review and that it stood by its strong safety record.

Allegiant said it welcomed any analysis of its operation and safety culture.

The US version of 60 Minutes in April claimed it had found more than 100 serious mechanical issues and suggested lax FAA oversight was involved. The airline and the FAA both denied the claim.

Emirates more than doubles profit

Steve Creedy

Gulf juggernaut Emirates more than doubled its profit to $US762 million in 2017-18 despite competitive pressures, political instability, and rising oil prices.

The world’s biggest international carrier benefitted from the weaker US dollar as well as the surge in the cargo industry as revenue rose 9 percent to $US25.2 billion.

Passenger numbers rose 4 percent to a record 58.5 million as the airline filled more seats as it kept capacity growth tight at 2 percent compared to 2016-17.

The passenger load factor rose 2.4 percentage points to 77.5 percent as passenger yield, a measure of average fares, increased 6.9 US cents per revenue passenger kilometre.

“Business conditions in 2017-18, while improved, remained tough,’’ Emirates chief executive and chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum said. “We saw ongoing political instability, currency volatility and devaluations in Africa, rising oil prices which drove our costs up, and downward pressure on margins from relentless competition.

“On the positive side, we benefitted from a healthy recovery in the global air cargo industry, as well as the relative strengthening of key currencies against the US dollar.”

The airline received 17 new aircraft during the financial year — eight A380s and nine Boeing 777-300ERs — and phased out eight older aircraft to bring the fleet count to 268 at the end of March.

WATCH: Emirates superjumbo creates a snowy blast.

This brought its average fleet age to 5.7 years, something the airline said underscored its strategy to operate a young a modern fleet to benefit its operations and customers.

Total operating costs increased by 7 percent with the airline’s fuel bill rising 18 percent over last year to $US6.7 billion.

Fuel now represents 28 percent of the airline’s operating costs, compared to 25 percent in 2016-17, and remains its biggest cost.

The airline said it continued to tap diverse financing sources to fund its strategy and ended the financial year with Increased cash assets of $US5.6 billion

The Emirates Group, which includes logistics arm dnata, reported a profit of $US1.1 billion.

But it said it remained focused on costs and its total workforce down 2 percent on the previous year.

“While expanding our business and growing revenues, we also tightened our cost discipline,’’ Sheik Ahmed said. “Across the Group, we progressed various initiatives to rebuild and streamline our back office operations with new technology, systems and processes.

“In 2017-18, our reduced recruitment activity, coupled with restructured ways of working gave us gains in productivity, and a slowdown in manpower cost increases.”

Mobile phone smoke causes KLM diversion

Steve Creedy

A KLM flight was forced to divert to Phuket Wednesday and make an unscheduled 18-hour stopover after another case of an overheating mobile phone.

The airline was also forced to cancel a Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur leg of the flight.

The Boeing 777 was at about 39,000ft about 100 nautical miles northwest of Phuket when the incident occurred.

KLM said in a statement that KL809 from Amsterdam to to Kuala Lumpur diverted to the Thai island after smoke accumulated in the cabin because a phone had overheated.

“The crew handled the situation well and the captain opted to land the aircraft as a precautionary measure. The aircraft landed safely and at no time were passengers or crew in danger,’’ the airline said.

SEE our ratings for KLM

“A safety check has since been carried out in the cabin and the aircraft has been released for departure.

“Owing to compulsory crew work and rest times, the flight to Kuala Lumpur cannot continue immediately and passengers and crew are being accommodated in hotels in Phuket.”

Problems with lithium batteries and mobile phones are ongoing.

Airlines and regulators began warning people not to try and retrieve their device if they drop it after a number of fires were caused by phones being crushed in seat mechanisms.

But the devices also overheat spontaneously.

Passengers on a China Southern flight from Guangzhou to Shanghai in February were forced to disembark after a power bank caught fire in an overhead locker.

Images of the fire went viral after they were posted by other passengers and crew member could be seen using water or juice to try and douse it.

Klm phone fire diversion — The case burning on China Southern. Photo: Weibo.

In March, a woman on an Air Canada flight travelling between Toronto and Vancouver received burns and was taken to hospital after a phone caught fire.

One of the most widespread overheating problems occurred in 2016 with the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. The number of meltdowns prompted airlines around the world to ban the phones and led to the Korean manufacturer recalling 2.5 million units.

Nor are the problems restricted to mobile phones.

A passenger who fell asleep wearing a pair of lithium battery-powered headphones was lucky to escape serious injury when they exploded on a march, 2017 flight from Beijing to Melbourne.

“As I went to turn around I felt burning on my face,” she told Australian investigators at the time. “I just grabbed my face which caused the headphones to go around my neck.

“I continued to feel burning so I grabbed them off and threw them on the floor. They were sparking and had small amounts of fire.

“As I went to stamp my foot on them the flight attendants were already there with a bucket of water to pour on them. They put them into the bucket at the rear of the plane.”

Loose lithium batteries are also prohibited in checked baggage and can be problematic in hand luggage.

In 2016, Australian authorities renewed warnings about the dangers of carrying loose lithium ion batteries on aircraft after a passenger’s hand luggage caught fire in a plane at Sydney Airport.

Watch: Is this the world’s scariest landing?