An airline flight ban on Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 is
spreading fast after reports some phones have caught fire. Carriers in
Australia, Asia and Europe put the phone on a prohibited list over the
weekend, which comes after the US banned the device last week.
Carriers flying to the US inevitably had to follow suit, but the bans are spreading worldwide.
In addition to several flag carriers taking action, Air Berlin, Dragonair and Virgin Australia now have bans.
Qantas and its discount carrier Jetstar said in a statement: “The ban
applies to devices being carried onto the aircraft, in carry-on baggage
as well as check-in luggage.”
Virgin Australia issued a similar announcement, but added that
passengers were “strongly advised” not to bring the Note 7 phone to
airports.
Air Berlin has banned the phones with immediate effect. Larger German
rival Lufthansa has a ban on flights to the US, but is reportedly
planning to impose the restriction across all flights soon.
Singapore Airlines said on its Facebook page that “the Galaxy Note 7
smartphone will be prohibited from being brought on board all our
flights in person, in carry-on baggage or checked-in baggage with effect
from 16 October”.
Samsung recalled around 2.5 million phones in September after complaints of exploding batteries.
While it later insisted that all replaced devices were safe, there were reports that those phones were catching fire too.
The company then said it would stop Galaxy Note 7 production
