The FAA does not take kindly to phones that are likely to explode mid-flight. And in that light, it is somewhat unsurprising that the U.S. federal air safety regulator is singling out the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. Once reports started emerging that a small handheld device has some chance of exploding, it quickly became something worth grounding.
In a terse but direct statement released late on Thursday (Sept. 8), the FAA noted: “In light of recent incidents and concerns” involving the smartphones, the agency “strongly advises passengers not to turn on or charge these devices” on planes and “not to stow them in any checked baggage.”
Generally speaking, the FAA doesn’t single out individual brands, and in the past, the regulator had warned consumers against checking phones of any kind since any lithium-ion battery has some risk of overheating and igniting due to a short circuit.
But since Samsung announced its recall of the offending Galaxy Notes, the FAA seems to be invested in extra caution. As of yet, the agency has not cited any specific incidents involving Samsung phones on flights. Samsung has only noted that internal discussions of the issues are ongoing.
South Korea’s air safety regulator said it has no plans to ban Galaxy Note 7 devices on airlines or take measures to prevent passengers from using or charging the device during flights.
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