FAA bans recalled 15-inch MacBook Pros with Retina Display from flights citing battery risk

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fire fiasco was bad. But what made it even worse for the brand was airports around the world, specifically announcing that Samsung Galaxy Note 7 users would not be allowed on flights with their phones, months after Samsung had recalled their phones. Apple may have to face a similar situation in the US airports, and no, it's got nothing to do with iPhones.The 2015 MacBook Pro with Retina Display had issues with the battery and a lot of them were recalled and had their batteries replaced. This recall call went out in June this year and was applicable for MacBook Pros sold from September 2015 and February 2017. Apple claimed that these batteries could overheat and post a fire safety risk.[caption id="attachment_4919401" align="alignnone" width="1280"]

Representational Image[/caption]The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said that it is aware of the recalled batteries being used on some MacBook Pros. FAA has alerted US Airlines about this recall. FAA has asked airlines to ensure that laptops which could be carrying replaced batteries not be allowed on flights.According to a Bloomberg report, four airlines with cargo operations such as TUI Group Airlines, Thomas Cook Airlines, Air Italy and Air Transat have implemented the ban preventing laptops from being carried in the flight as cargo.“Please note that the 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro laptop, sold between mid-2015 to February-2017 is prohibited onboard any of our mandate carriers,” said a TCE Operations co-ordinator. According to a TUI Group Airlines staffer, flight attendants will make announcements about the ban at the gate and before take-off. There is no clarity if these announcements will happen in the US, as TUI Group is a UK-based airline.In case you want to find out if your MacBook Pro is affected, head over to this Apple support page and enter your MacBook's serial number.