WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued an interim final rule (IFR) yesterday that prohibits passengers and crewmembers from carrying battery-powered portable electronic smoking devices (e-cigarettes) in checked baggage and bans passengers and crewmembers from charging the devices and/or batteries on board the aircraft.

“We know from recent incidents that e-cigarettes in checked bags can catch fire during transport,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Fire hazards in flight are particularly dangerous. Banning e-cigarettes from checked bags is a prudent safety measure.”

According to the DOT, on Aug. 9, 2014, at Boston's Logan Airport, an e-cigarette that was in a passenger's checked bag in the cargo hold of a passenger plane caused a fire that forced the evacuation of the aircraft. And on Jan. 4, 2015, at Los Angeles International Airport, a checked bag that arrived late and missed its connecting flight caught on fire when an e-cigarette inside the bag overheated.

Passengers may continue to carry e-cigarettes for personal use in carry-on baggage or on their person but may not use them on flights. The DOT’s current regulatory ban on smoking of tobacco products on passenger flights includes the use of electronic cigarettes. However, to prevent passenger or crewmember confusion, DOT has proposed to amend its existing airline smoking rule to explicitly ban use of electronic cigarettes aboard aircraft.