UAE aviation regulator bans Samsung Note 7 smartphones aboard all national carriers

A Samsung Galaxy Note 7 new smartphone is displayed at its store in Seoul. Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters

The use of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones aboard UAE national airlines has been banned by the regulator.

Passengers are advised not to turn on or charge Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 onboard the aircraft and not to stow them in checked baggage, Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, director general of the General Civil Aviation Authority, said in a statement.

Samsung is replacing all Note 7 devices worldwide after 35 reported incidents in which a battery flaw led to fires or explosions.

Earlier Emirates said it would tell passengers not to use or charge their Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones on flights.

The Dubai carrier also warned against storing the handsets inside luggage placed in the cargo hold, in a statement published on Wam.

The South Korea-based company has already announced a voluntary, worldwide recall of all 2.5 million of the smartphones it has already shipped, at a cost to the company estimated at as much as US$1 billion. On Saturday, Samsung told users in South Korea to stop using the devices and to bring them to the company’s service centers. Customers can rent replacement phones until Note 7’s with new batteries become available on September 19, the it said. It wasn’t clear whether the fixed Note 7 models would also be offered elsewhere on that date.

Almost all CPSC recalls are done voluntarily in conjunction with a company and the scope of any action on the Note 7 may be identical to what Samsung has already suggested to consumers.

But once the agency becomes involved, it triggers additional protections for people. For example, US law prohibits the sale or resale of any recalled item once CPSC acts.

The CPSC action came as aviation regulators in several countries and airlines advised passengers against turning on or charging the devices during flights.

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