Following a recall initiated by Apple, the Federal Aviation Administration has banned mid-2015 15-inch MacBook Pro models with faulty batteries from flights, reports Bloomberg.
Apple in June announced a voluntary recall and replacement program for 15-inch MacBook Pro models sold between September 2015 and February 2017 as these models may contain batteries that can overheat and pose a fire safety risk.
In a statement to Bloomberg, the Federal Aviation Administration said that major U.S. airlines have been notified about the recall and have been instructed to follow guidelines for goods with recalled batteries.
That means affected Apple laptops that have not received replacement batteries are not allowed on flights as cargo or in carry-on luggage, which is standard operating procedure.
Earlier this month, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency also warned European airlines to make sure affected MacBook Pro models are switched off and not used during flights.
Four cargo airlines, including TUI Group Airlines, Thomas Cook Airlines, Air Italy, and Air Transat have implemented bans that prevent the laptops from being brought on planes as cargo.
"Please note that the 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro laptop, sold between mid-2015 to February-2017 is prohibited on board any of our mandate carriers," a TCE operations coordinator wrote to employees.
TUI Group Airlines, based out of the UK, plans to begin making announcements about affected MacBook Pro models at the gate and prior to takeoff, but laptops with replaced batteries will not be affected. There is no word on whether similar announcements will be made at U.S. airports and other airports worldwide.
Apple has asked customers with a 15-inch mid-2015 MacBook Pro to stop using their machines until they can take the steps to have their batteries replaced. Users with a 2015 MacBook Pro can enter their Mac's serial number in the recall program website to check if their machine needs a replacement battery.
Apple has been offering free replacement batteries since June and has sent out emails to customers who are affected urging them to bring their MacBook Pro models in for repair. 2015 machines that have a fresh battery are allowed on planes as normal.
15-inch MacBook Pro models from 2015 that have faulty batteries are in danger of overheating and catching on fire. Approximately 432,000 potentially affected MacBook Pro units were sold in the United States, along with 26,000 in Canada.
Top Stories
New MacBook Air Possible as Early as Next Week
Apple to Close All Retail Stores Outside of China Until March 27th
Kuo: New MacBook Pro and MacBook Air Models With Scissor Keyboards to Launch in Second Quarter
Kuo: MacBooks With Apple-Designed Processors Coming Late 2020 or Early 2021, All-New Design to Follow in Mid 2021
T-Mobile Offering Unlimited Smartphone Data, Extra Hotspot Data and Free International Calls to Some Areas Amid Coronavirus Outbreak
Apple Postpones Alleged March Product Event Amid Coronavirus Restrictions
Top Stories: WWDC Goes Digital-Only, Huge iOS 14 Leaks, Apple Store Closures, and Mac Notebook Rumors
Apple Announces WWDC 2020 Will Be a Digital-Only Event Set to Take Place in June
Apple's A14 Chip Rumored to Become First Arm-Based Mobile Processor to Exceed 3GHz
Top Rated Comments
(View all)How did it work with the Galaxy phones? I can’t tell which Galaxy is which Lol.
Samsung'd! Good thing they didn't talk smack when the Note 7 had its issue.
The Samsung exploding battery issue was on an entirely different level.
https://time.com/4526350/samsung-galaxy-note-7-recall-problems-overheating-fire/
Within a month after its August release:
“Samsung receives 92 reports of batteries overheating in Galaxy Note 7 phones in the U.S.; it says there were 26 reports of burns and 55 reports of property damage. A man in Florida says his vehicle caught fire when the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone charging inside his SUV burst into flames.”
Another month went by, millions of phones recalled, banned in airports, and this:
“On Oct. 9, Samsung stops exchanging recalled Note 7 devices due to reports of replacement phones catching fire, just as the original phones did.”
Two days later, Samsung announced they were ceasing production of the phone.
It’s incredible that people went back and bought phones from Samsung again. I know Apple customers are loyal, but wow, Samsung customers took it a bit beyond “loyal” in my opinion.
------------------------
So, apparently this mid-2015 Retina 15-inch MacBook Pro is a Refurbished model, and is not affected, and has a newer replaced battery. So how in the world are the airline security checks going to know this?? Without having a serial number checker on hand??
Yikes! Will be so nice when we get beyond Li ion's.
They can replace them with the nuclear reactor technology the Russians are using to power their cruise missiles.Samsung'd! Good thing they didn't talk smack when the Note 7 had its issue.
The Note 7 was recalled after a month and discontinued after 2 months. The Macs in question are 3-4 years old.I wonder how they’ll check whether individual MacBook Pros are in the affected range? Will they have to plug the serial number into the website for every one? Plus, they look identical to retina MacBook Pros from 2012-2015, that’s going to be interesting.
Even if they were on the ball and had a PC or tablet set up at the gate, connected to the website, to check serial numbers, getting the serial number from one machine (which may be in someone's carry-on and you have to tell them you need to look at it, and then explain why you need to look at it, "yes, really, yes, you", and then have them get it out, and turn it on, and maybe plug it in, and maybe boot it up, and maybe log in, to get to "About this Mac", and then read out/transcribe the serial number without error)... now multiply that by, say, 20 users... that's quite a pile-up at the gate.