Airline safety regulators in the US have banned certain MacBook Pro laptops from flights. This comes after Apple recently warned that some of these devices posed a fire risk because of faulty batteries.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement that it was “aware of the recalled batteries” in specific Apple MacBook Pro laptop models. It added that major US airlines have been notified about the recall. The FAA also cautioned airlines to follow safety regulations for products with recalled batteries – i.e. the laptops in question should not be allowed on board flights as hand baggage or cargo.
Earlier in August, the EU Aviation Safety Agency issued a warning about the same MacBook Pro models, instructing airlines to follow rules that require laptops and other devices with lithium-ion batteries that have been recalled to remain switched off during flights.
The list includes 15-inch MacBook Pros that were sold from September 2015 to February 2017. Apple announced the recall two months ago, saying that it had determined that in some of the older 15-inch MacBook Pro laptops, the battery might overheat and pose a fire risk.
Over the past few days, TUI Group Airlines, Air Italy, Thomas Cook Airlines and Air Transat started banning these laptops from being brought on board.
Following an incident involving a MacBook, the FAA tweeted on 10 July that “recalled #batteries do not fly.” TUI Group Airlines staff will now make announcements about these MacBook Pros at the gate and also before the plane takes off. There is also a notice on its website.
In June, Apple said that it had made the decision to replace the affected batteries for free.