The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall over battery issues has raised several concerns, and a number of Australian airlines are now banning the use of the smartphone on board.
What was widely regarded as one of the hottest releases of this year turned out to be literally too hot, with Samsung having to recall the Galaxy Note 7 because of exploding batteries. The massive recall may cost the company $1 billion, but Samsung's woes don't end here.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is mulling over the decision to ban the smartphone on planes, but it hasn't swung the ban hammer just yet. Airlines, however, can decide to ban the use of a dangerous product voluntarily, and that's exactly what happened in Australia.
Three of the biggest airlines in Australia — Qantas, Virgin Australia and Jetstar — have banned the use of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on their flights. More specifically, passengers will not be allowed to power up or charge their device while on a plane.
The ban stems from concerns related to the Galaxy Note 7's battery, which is why the airlines are banning just the use of the Galaxy Note 7 on flights, not the device outright. This means that you could still take your Note 7 with you, you're just not allowed to use it — not even in airplane mode.
"Following Samsung Australia's recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 personal electronic device we are requesting that passengers who own them do not switch on or charge them in flight," a Qantas spokesman told Reuters.
That said, it will be interesting to see how these airlines will handle things once Samsung fixes the issues and puts the device back on the market. The amended Galaxy Note 7 units will likely need a distinctive mention or mark to denote that they've been certified safe after this whole fiasco with exploding batteries.
The issue of dangerous batteries on board airplanes has been under scrutiny for a good while now. Late last year, for instance, a number of airlines banned hoverboards over fire-hazard batteries. In January, a U.N. panel called the International Civil Aviation Organization also recommended banning lithium-ion rechargeable batteries from airplanes.
It remains to be seen how Samsung will play this out, but the company is making efforts to change the battery cells and put the device back on the market as soon as possible.
Will this affect the overall success of the Galaxy Note 7 once it's back on sale? We'll see. In the meantime, better safe than sorry.
