Flight Attendant Current
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Hazardous Material Violation; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown
Aircraft Equipment Problem Dissipated; Flight Crew Overcame Equipment Problem; General Maintenance Action
Human Factors
During boarding Name in seat X came on board aircraft and told me the gate agent had told him to give me his battery for his wheelchair/scooter.  He asked his wife if she knew what type of battery it was and she said she did not know as she looked all over the battery for an indication of the type of battery it was.  She then handed me the battery and I tried to find any indication of what type of battery it was to no avail.  The battery did have a hazmat fire symbol sticker on it.  I let the Captain know about the battery and explained to him that the passenger didn't know what type of battery it was nor was there any indication on the battery to its type.  I called the agent on the Jetway phone that was in the Jumpseat; to let them know we had an issue with this battery.  The agent sent a manager down and I explained to the manager that we didn't know what type of battery it was.  She then called the Ramp Manager to come up.  I gave the Captain the battery to see if he could see something on the outside to indicate what type it was.  When the Ramp Manager came up she told us it was a lithium-ion battery.  I asked her how she knows that and she said that the passenger told her that.  I then explained to the Ramp Manager and the Captain that the passenger told me that they didn't know what type of battery it was.  The Captain then called someone to clarify what type of battery it was and if it was accepted on board in the cabin.  The agent then pulled up a photo on her phone showing a recycle symbol similar to the recycle symbol on the battery; except the symbol on the battery didn't have the words Li-ion in addition to the symbol as the picture that she displayed on her phone did.  All the symbols I have seen for lithium-ion have that addition Li-ion indicating it is a lithium-ion battery.  The Captain thought that she pulled the photo from a manual that they have access to and made the decision to now close the door.  It wasn't until later in the flight when I had explained to him that she just googled it and pulled it up on her phone so that she could shut the door.  I was then able to find in my manual that if the agent had been told by the passenger that indeed the battery was a lithium-ion battery she should have made a notation in the passenger record with a code and instead of the passenger handing me the battery; as per procedure in the manual the agent should have brought the battery on board the aircraft and stowed it either in the overhead bin or under the seat and informed the Lead Flight Attendant and the Captain of the location so that we could inform all other flight attendants on board to then monitor the battery throughout the flight for excessive heat; smoke or other potential fire indicators. [Reporter recommends] not allowing a lithium-ion battery of that [large] size to be boarded on an aircraft or coming up with a safe location to stow that type of battery knowing that there is a potential for a fire hazard.  25 grams of lithium-ion is the max [allowed] per our manual states that we can transport.  This size battery was the max.  On board we have a sleeve [containment bag] for a laptop or tablet or cell phone battery that may catch on fire; this battery would not fit in that sleeve!
A-321 Flight Attendant reported an improperly configured large wheelchair Lithium Ion battery was transported in passenger cabin.