Citing fire hazard concerns, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) will recommend soon that, effective Jan. 15, 2018, its 275 member airlines worldwide ban so-called “smart luggage” from the cargo hold of passenger aircraft unless the lithium-ion battery is removed from the bag. Such batteries will be allowed only in the passenger cabin. If the battery cannot be removed, it will not be allowed on board.

The implementation date is a year ahead of a January 2019 embargo previously issued by the dangerous goods panel of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Alaska, Delta, and American Airlines in the U.S. last week initiated such a ban. Southwest and United are expected to follow.

“Smart luggage” enables travelers to charge their electronic devices, and may also feature GPS tracking, remote locking, and a digital self-weighing scale.

David Brennan, IATA assistant director for cargo safety and standards, told AIN, “Really what’s there is a power bank. Most of these manufacturers are putting in a 30- or 40-watt-hour battery because you can plug in your phone, your laptop, your tablet, and recharge them. We treat power banks as spare batteries; they’re never allowed in checked baggage.”

Brennan said battery fires on aircraft happen more often in business or first class when a passenger charging a phone falls asleep. “The phone drops down, and when they bring their seat up it gets crushed, starting a fire.” Cabin crew are trained in how to deal with such fires onboard, so batteries in the passenger cabin are regarded as lower risk than those in the hold. Lithium ion batteries have been forbidden for transport as cargo on passenger aircraft since April 2016.

Earlier this year, the baggage security screening company for an Asian airline discovered 15,000 cellphone batteries in a passenger’s checked luggage. The smugglers were attempting to transport inexpensive batteries to Africa, where lack of telephone and electricity infrastructure creates high demand for spare batteries. “Do it proper,” Brennan quipped. “If you want to run a business, ship it as cargo.”

Brian Pearce, IATA chief economist, forecast that the value of goods shipped by air will rise to $6.2 trillion in 2018, facilitated by the “new trade lanes” of more than 1,300 additional city-pair connections since last year. However, he said, “The underlying world trade situation is still pretty miserable, flat as a pancake since the global financial crisis” of 2008. He said borders are getting more difficult to cross due to “soft protectionism.”