Challenge Group gains IATA CEIV lithium battery certification
09 / 09 / 2024
Boeing B747-400F. Photo: Challenge Group
Challenge Group has gained the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) CEIV lithium battery certification as pressure grows on the air cargo industry to improve the safety record of lithium battery transportation.
The certification follows six months of preparation, training and strict auditing and adds to the existing IATA CEIV Pharma and IATA CEIV Live accreditations previously awarded to Challenge Airlines and Challenge Handling in Liège.
“At Challenge Group, we are very concerned with detecting mis-declared or undeclared Lithium Battery shipments and therefore make certain that our people are trained in what to look out for,” Yossi Shoukroun, chief executive of Challenge Group.
“We are proud that our efforts have been officially recognised and that we may now carry the IATA CEIV Lithium Battery seal of approval as a visible demonstration to customers that their DGR shipments are in the best of hands, including the ones under UN3090 and UN3480. Thank you to the IATA CEIV Lithium Battery auditors for their commendations and feedback as we continue to ensure the highest level in handling standards.”
Challenge Group said it has a dedicated lithium battery expert team that is drilled on risk prevention and crisis management. Lithium Battery shipments have their own separate handling areas, both in the warehouse Dangerous Goods section as well as in the second-line warehouse dedicated to e-commerce.
“E-commerce receives particular attention since around 70% of e-commerce being flown across the globe, contains Lithium Batteries,” stated David Canavan, chief operating officer of Challenge Group.
“That is another reason why more and more air cargo stakeholders should be striving for risk awareness and safe handling. An IATA CEIV Lithium Battery audit is the best way to adopt and ensure company-wide compliance with the required safety standards.”
According to IATA, around 1.3m shipments of lithium batteries are transported by air annually. The trade body estimates that about 5% of air cargo shipments include lithium batteries, in addition to other electronics and mail parcels. And those are just the shipments officially declared as containing these batteries.
IATA global head of cargo Brendan Sullivan said: “As the numbers of lithium batteries being shipped globally continues to increase, it’s essential these vital items are transported safely and efficiently. IATA’s CEIV Lithium Batteries was established to raise standards, spread best practice, and ensure regulatory compliance across the supply chain.
“We commend Challenge Group for achieving CEIV lithium battery certification. This gives customers total confidence in Challenge Group’s world-class performance and quality credentials for lithium battery shipments.”
Challenge Group operates a fleet of Boeing 747 and 767 freighters across three airlines, including Challenge Airlines IL in Israel, Challenge Airlines BE in Belgium and Challenge Airlines MT in Malta. The company has tripled its capacity over the past four years, now handling over 500,000 tons of cargo annually.
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