by Donald Wood
Last updated: 12:15 PM ET, Tue October 27, 2015
Photo courtesy of Thinkstock
The United States Department of Transportation announced a ban on electronic cigarettes in checked luggage on all commercial airplanes. The new law will go into effect in two weeks.
In a report from The Associated Press, the new federal law will ban airline passengers from packing electronic cigarettes or other battery-operated electronic smoking devices in their checked baggage to prevent potential fires during flights.
The Department of Transportation claims there have been at least 26 incidents since 2009 where e-cigarettes have caused explosions or fires. The issues are typically caused when electronic smoking devices are left on for extended periods of time and short circuit.
While the ban applies to e-cigarettes in checked luggage, passengers are still permitted to take their electronic smoking devices on the plane in carry-on bags, but are still not allowed to recharge them on the aircraft.
Earlier this year, TravelPulse's Rich Thomaselli reported that European e-cigarette maker DanSmoke and low-cost Irish airline Ryanair had teamed up for an advertising campaign, which even included the airline allowing smokeless cigarettes to be used on board.
While that may fly overseas, this will no longer be acceptable in the United States.
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