dovebiker – Member
Firstly, bike lights use lithium polymer batteries – sometimes gets confused with lithium-metal batteries which are banned on commercial flights.
Lithium-metal batteries (disposable batteries like button cells) are generally low risk due to small capacity. It’s rechargeable big Lithium-Ion batteries that are the risk. Batteries often sold as LiPo / Lithium-Polymer are actually Lithium-Ion. They just use a polymer casing instead of rigid. They’re technically Lithium-Ion Polymer Case batteries. They are not the same as true Lithium-Polymer batteries (which largely don’t exist outside of labs).
The problem really relates to mobile phones and laptops that can
overheat / catch fire
Can assure you, LiPo light batteries do catch fire, quite spectacularly.
That’s why you’re advised to charge them in a LiPo bag or box.
Even when not charging they can still be a risk if they are faulty due to short circuits, under charge, and if they are damaged and especially punctured. MTB light batteries get a fair bit of abuse, especially if you crash or drop them.
They’ll be higher up the banned list for airlines as they hold a greater charge than a phone or laptop battery.