Please note UL suggests to liaise with your chosen airlines in order to seek clarification as to whether or not the airlines are enacting/allowing the transitional period.

The biggest change to the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations that will affect the WERCSmart supplier community and retail client is the removal of the Section II exception from Packing Instructions (PI) 965 and 968.

PI 965 and PI 968 are those Packing Instructions that apply to lithium-ion cells and batteries (including power banks) and lithium metal/primary cells and batteries, respectively.  This change does not affect the Section II exception found in PI 966, PI 967, PI 969, or PI 970 that are for the lithium battery-containing products.  Those products will still be able to utilize the relief provided by Section II.

These standalone cells and batteries will still be able to utilize the exceptions found under Section IB on PI 965 and PI 968.  The requirements of Section IB are as follows:

    Packages cannot exceed a weight of 10 kg for lithium-ion cells/batteries or 2.5 kg for lithium metal/primary cells/batteries.

    The following marks and labels must be on the package:

        Lithium metal/Lithium ion battery (as appropriate)*

        UN3090/UN3480 (as appropriate)*

        The shippers and consignors name and address

        The Class 9 – Lithium Battery label*

        The lithium battery mark

        The Cargo Aircraft Only label

        The net weight of the batteries or cells in the package must be marked on the packages when shipping multiple, non-identical packages*

        A Shipper’s Declaration must be filled out the same way as for a fully-regulated shipment, except that “IB” be added after the PI number or in the Authorization column*

        Persons shipping lithium batteries require full dangerous good training*

* indicates requirements from Section IB that were not required for Section II.

The aforementioned changes only apply when shipping via carriers that are members of IATA.  If a battery is shipped on a non-IATA aircraft, then the DOT Section II equivalent (49CFR173.185(c)(4) is still a valid exception that can be used when shipping standalone lithium ion or lithium metal/primary cells/batteries.

Beginning in January 2022, WERCSmart will be updated to reflect this change. Section II will no longer be selectable for lithium cells/batteries (or power banks).  All pre-existing lithium battery submissions that currently have Section II selected will be automatically updated to reflect Section IB and re-fed to retailers to update their transportation logistics.

Reference: https://www.iata.org/contentassets/b08040a138dc4442a4f066e6fb99fe2a/dgr-63-en-significant-changes.pdf