Communication Breakdown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Hazardous Material Violation; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown
General None Reported / Taken
Company Policy; Manuals
During pre-boarding of Aircraft X a pre-boarding passenger had a roller bag that they told me was '80 pounds and filled with lithium batteries for her mobility scooter'. I informed the operations agent that the bag was filled with lithium batteries and that it was too heavy for me to lift alone. The operations agent called a supervisor who informed me that there was no limit to the number of lithium batteries allowed in a carry on for medical purposes as long as they're not attached to anything and they found someone to assist with stowing the bag in an overhead bin. This concerned me because if the lithium batteries were to catch on fire; because of the number of them there would be no way to contain them in the containment bags that we have available. I was also concerned because I couldn't find anything in the [manual] about weight restrictions on carry-on items; both for the safety of the employees assisting with carry-on items that are too heavy and for the weight limits on the overhead bins I found it concerning that I was unable to find any weight restrictions for carry-on items in my manual. This was a difficult situation to address because it was; I felt; too heavy to be a carry-on item but because of the presence of lithium ion batteries we were unable to check the bag either. A set limit for carry-on weight and number of lithium ion batteries allowed onboard.
B737-800 Flight Attendant reported passenger carry-on bag containing 80 lbs of Lithium Ion batteries caused concern due to weight and insufficient containment bags available to extinguish a Lithium Ion battery fire in the event of an in flight fire. Reporter further stated there is no guidance in Flight Attendant Manuel regarding weight/quantity restrictions.