Extra Lithium Batteries Banned from Checked Baggage

Not sure how this one slipped by without anyone noticing. Apparently, it is not illegal to have an extra battery in your checked baggage for your laptop or digital camera or pretty much anything else. Apparently, it is permitted in unchecked luggage, but only if carried in a plastic bag and even there limits exist.

The claim is that this is to reduce the chance of fire, as lithium batteries have been blamed for a number of otherwise unexplained fires. But I can't help wondering if this is really to discourage use of laptops as entertainment devices on long flights, so people will pay for the little video screens and other extras.