(Reuters) - The U.N. aviation agency on Monday agreed to prohibit shipments of lithium-ion batteries on passenger aircraft, citing concerns that they are a fire hazard.

The International Civil Aviation Organization’s 36-state governing council said the prohibition would be in effect as of April 1, 2016 and would be maintained until a new safer packaging standard is designed to transport the batteries.

“This interim prohibition will continue to be in force as separate work continues through ICAO on a new lithium battery packaging performance standard, currently expected by 2018,” ICAO council president Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu said in a statement.