Having in the past suffered confiscation of an irreplaceable Campag pedal spanner (inadvertently put in hand luggage), I am worried about losing my essential battery. What shall we do for the best?

Julian Chappell

It’s a fact: Li-Ion batteries may ignite if short-circuited, which isn’t good on an aircraft! Airlines nevertheless allow passengers to bring laptops on board, and will carry electric wheelchairs powered by similar batteries to those on e-bikes. So I phoned Easy-Jet and eventually got to talk to not just a real person, but a really helpful person!

As a result of that phone call, Easy-Jet’s bicycles FAQ now informs that they do carry electric bicycles as an item of ‘sports equipment’, provided that the battery is removed and packed in a separate item of normal hold luggage. All the other usual rules apply, the same as packing and checking in a normal bike.

Chris Juden

This was first published in the June / July 2013 edition of Cycle magazine.