Magnetic hazards in hold baggage

[STAN_37]

Are magnets still a hazard in hold baggage?

I flew with a party to Italy from a UK airport recently. The party's common hold baggage included a large amplifier/loudspeaker in a transit case. Browsing the airport's regulations for another reason more recently, I read the following about items that must not be taken on board an aircraft:

For safety reasons, there are a number of items that cannot be taken onto an aircraft, so please do not pack them in any luggage:
* Instruments containing magnets;

The regulations of most British airports contain the same prohibition of baggage containing magnets, but the restriction does not appear in British airline Ts & Cs. I've not had time to check the situation outside the UK.

The public information I can find indicates that officially baggage containing magnets are still classified by IATA & CAA as dangerous goods, because of it's potential for affecting aircraft magnetic compasses if loaded in close proximity to the sensors. Carriage of hold baggage containing magnets is restricted (but not totally prohibited) and baggage with magnetic hazards can be carried if it is declared and labelled appropriately.

I can't be uncommon for pax to travel with magnetic items in their hold baggage so I assume there must be procedures in place to cope with this.
As an engineer I know that the external field from the majority of items with magnets (electric toothbrushes, shavers etc) will negligible at a distance, but there will always be a few exceptions such as a large louspeaker. The owner of the this amplifier/loudspeaker tells me that he has never been asked any questions about it when flying with it in Europe many times before.

My question is: Is hold baggage containing magnets still regarded as a safety hazard, or has GPS navigation rendered this restriction largely unnecessary?

STAN 37