KUALA LUMPUR: Effective immediately, all passengers must first remove the batteries from their electronic cigarettes before boarding any flights.
This is to prevent a recurrence of Saturday’s incident where an electronic cigarette triggered a fire on board Malindo Air flight OD1003.
In a statement today, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) said the company was aware of International Civil Aviation Organisation rulings which bar electronic cigarettes, commonly known as vapes, from being checked into the cargo.
The devices, however, are permitted to be carried on board as part of the cabin luggage.
“As such, effective immediately, we have implemented additional precautionary measures by instructing passengers to remove the batteries from their electronic cigarettes.
“We are also aware that the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) is conducting further investigation to enforce these rulings,” said the statement.
The DCA, in a statement earlier today, had said it was conducting a thorough investigation into Saturday’s incident.
DCA director general Datuk Seri Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said they regard the incident as a serious matter, based on the ICAO’s Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (ICAO Doc 9284) guidelines.
Under the guidelines, aircraft passengers and crew are forbidden from checking in electronic cigarettes into the cargo.
Passengers and crew are also forbidden from charging the devices on board in the aircraft cabin.