FOLLOIWNG the recent pallet fire at Hong Kong Airport, an increasing number of airlines are banning the shipment of China-made Vivo mobile phones, reports London's The Loadstar.
Alongside Indian carriers Spicejet and Go Air, Garuda, IAG Cargo and Lufthansa Cargo have also told customers the shipments are banned. The move is likely to have a serious impact on Vivo, which is ranked number five in global smartphone shipments.
A spokesperson for Lufthansa Cargo said: 'Following the reports of an incident at Hong Kong Airport, unrelated to our operations and pending investigations by the authorities, Lufthansa Cargo has followed the actions of the involved carriers and decided to ban all Vivo products containing lithium batteries (ion and metal) for direct or indirect carriage as airfreight on board any flights operated by Lufthansa Cargo and/or Lufthansa, Austrian or Brussels Airlines, as a precautionary temporary measure until further notice.
'We are in constructive exchange with the responsible authorities for further steps,' it added.
IAG told customers: 'With immediate effect and until further notice, IAG Cargo embargoes any type of Vivo shipment containing batteries from all APAC and Middle East origin stations to all destinations. This embargo applies to any form of shipment booked either directly or indirectly for uplift on IAG Cargo services.'
Vivo has a strong market in India. GoAir said 'all consignments from Vivo are on hold', while Spicejet cargo chief Sanjiv Gupta told media not only were all Vivo mobiles and accessories banned, but that 'if any undeclared or mis-declared mobile shipment/accessories [are] found during screening, tendering dangerous goods, the agent will be blacklisted'.
Vivo has also yet to respond to The Loadstar's request for comment but told Asian media: 'We have paid high attention [to the fire] and immediately set up a special team to work closely with the local authorities to determine its cause.'
David Brennan, assistant director cargo safety & standards for IATA, said he was 'concerned', and that the fire on the ramp in Hong Kong 'represents a very serious incident that could have affected flight safety'.
He added: 'We understand the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department (HK CAD) has commenced an investigation to identify the cause of the fire and that the manufacturer of the phones has reached out to the HK CAD. We look forward to any information that the HK CAD makes available.'
Lithium ion batteries in mobile phones have a lengthy charge sheet already, but Mr Brennan said there may have been other commodities loaded on to the pallet as well.
'We would expect that to be part of the HK CAD investigation to determine the exact contents of the pallet.'
He added: 'IATA remains focused on the safe transport of dangerous goods by air, including the transport of lithium batteries. Until the investigation is completed, we believe it is premature to make assumptions or propose changes to the existing regulations for the transport of lithium batteries.'
The ban on its phones will be a severe blow to Vivo. In the fourth quarter, it had a 15 per cent share in the Asia smartphone market, which, it said, was driven by a strong performance in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, 'where Vivo led all smartphone manufacturers in shipments during the quarter'.
Globally, Vivo ranked fifth in global smartphone shipments last year, with a market share of 8.6 per cent, suggesting its phones are on many aircraft around the world.
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Alongside Indian carriers Spicejet and Go Air, Garuda, IAG Cargo and Lufthansa Cargo have also told customers the shipments are banned. The move is likely to have a serious impact on Vivo, which is ranked number five in global smartphone shipments.
A spokesperson for Lufthansa Cargo said: 'Following the reports of an incident at Hong Kong Airport, unrelated to our operations and pending investigations by the authorities, Lufthansa Cargo has followed the actions of the involved carriers and decided to ban all Vivo products containing lithium batteries (ion and metal) for direct or indirect carriage as airfreight on board any flights operated by Lufthansa Cargo and/or Lufthansa, Austrian or Brussels Airlines, as a precautionary temporary measure until further notice.
'We are in constructive exchange with the responsible authorities for further steps,' it added.
IAG told customers: 'With immediate effect and until further notice, IAG Cargo embargoes any type of Vivo shipment containing batteries from all APAC and Middle East origin stations to all destinations. This embargo applies to any form of shipment booked either directly or indirectly for uplift on IAG Cargo services.'
Vivo has a strong market in India. GoAir said 'all consignments from Vivo are on hold', while Spicejet cargo chief Sanjiv Gupta told media not only were all Vivo mobiles and accessories banned, but that 'if any undeclared or mis-declared mobile shipment/accessories [are] found during screening, tendering dangerous goods, the agent will be blacklisted'.
Vivo has also yet to respond to The Loadstar's request for comment but told Asian media: 'We have paid high attention [to the fire] and immediately set up a special team to work closely with the local authorities to determine its cause.'
David Brennan, assistant director cargo safety & standards for IATA, said he was 'concerned', and that the fire on the ramp in Hong Kong 'represents a very serious incident that could have affected flight safety'.
He added: 'We understand the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department (HK CAD) has commenced an investigation to identify the cause of the fire and that the manufacturer of the phones has reached out to the HK CAD. We look forward to any information that the HK CAD makes available.'
Lithium ion batteries in mobile phones have a lengthy charge sheet already, but Mr Brennan said there may have been other commodities loaded on to the pallet as well.
'We would expect that to be part of the HK CAD investigation to determine the exact contents of the pallet.'
He added: 'IATA remains focused on the safe transport of dangerous goods by air, including the transport of lithium batteries. Until the investigation is completed, we believe it is premature to make assumptions or propose changes to the existing regulations for the transport of lithium batteries.'
The ban on its phones will be a severe blow to Vivo. In the fourth quarter, it had a 15 per cent share in the Asia smartphone market, which, it said, was driven by a strong performance in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, 'where Vivo led all smartphone manufacturers in shipments during the quarter'.
Globally, Vivo ranked fifth in global smartphone shipments last year, with a market share of 8.6 per cent, suggesting its phones are on many aircraft around the world.
SeaNews Turkey