Auckland Airport (AKL) has begun donating batteries confiscated from check-in luggage to the local community in South Auckland as part of a new partnership with Aviation Security.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority, roughly 470 batteries are removed from checked luggage per day on average (July 2024 to June 2025).
Since August 2024, Unopened packets of batteries have been donated for use in the community, with around 145kg of batteries donated each month.
Auckland Airport’s Chief Strategic Planning Officer Mary-Liz Tuck has stated that the majority of everyday travellers pack batteries in their checked bags, unaware that they are restricted within the cabin due to significant fire risk in the baggage hold.
Auckland Airport’s Chief Strategic Planning Officer, Mary-Liz Tuck, said:Since the programme began, together we’ve donated about 95,000 batteries to the South Auckland community in less than a year – that’s equivalent to more than three large supermarket trolleys.
My top tip for travelling: pack batteries, power banks and ear buds in your carry on bags to avoid them being removed from your checked luggage.
The batteries, which alone account for 70% of items confiscated by Aviation Security, are sorted by the airport’s waste disposal supplier, HiTech Services, before being separated out for donation. They are then sent to KiwiHarvest, an organisation that rescues items and surplus food from supermarkets and wholesalers, before being distributed to over 200 charities across New Zealand.
CAA’s Deputy Chief Executive Aviation Security, Fred Stein, said:We don’t want to be taking people’s batteries from their checked-in bags but batteries can be dangerous because they can overheat and catch fire. And our priority is and always will be to keep people safe and secure when they fly. So that’s why batteries, as well as power banks, earbuds, cigarette vapes must go in your carry on. If you’re not sure about the rules and restrictions, check the passenger information section on our website – aviaton.govt.nz.
We’re thrilled to be partnering with Auckland Airport so that the batteries we do remove from checked-in bags are going to schools and charities and being recycled and not going to landfill. We are 100% behind this kind of sustainability!
