Some U.S. airlines are allegedly telling passengers not to use any Samsung branded handset in-flight

The issues that Samsung is having with exploding Galaxy Note 7 units is making some U.S. airlines nervous. Last week, some stateside air carriers started to ban passengers from using a Galaxy Note 7 in-flight. But now, flight attendants on some airlines are reportedly telling passengers to power down all Samsung handsets and not to use them while the plane is in the air.

As one flight attendant said, "Its hard to tell at a glance if a phone is a Note 7 or not. But we can tell if something's a Samsung from the aisle." What is unknown is whether the in-flight ban covers certain aircraft or certain flights. The Association of Flight Attendants union is already concerned about the additional work that their members will have to deal with if they are given the task of going through each passenger's smartphone.

An American Airlines spokesman we chatted with late this afternoon denied that the airline is banning the in-flight use of all Samsung handsets. The information he emailed us contains the content of announcements that the airline is making at the gate and on board its flights. Both of these basically state that the airline is following FAA recommendations to keep the Galaxy Note 7 powered off and not connected to any power source while on the plane. Online, the airline is telling passengers that the FAA recommends that the Galaxy Note 7 be kept out of checked baggage, powered off, and disconnected from power sources while traveling.


Samsung has asked all Samsung Galaxy Note 7 owners to power down the phone and to return it to the place where it was purchased. Replacement units will be offered in a box containing a white circle with a blue "S" inside it. Tomorrow, Samsung will supposedly release an IMEI database that will contain the unique number of each un-repaired Galaxy Note 7. Samsung blames the issue on "an overheating of the battery cell (which) occurred when the anode-to-cathode came into contact, which is a very rare manufacturing process error."

source: AppleInsider