Vietnam to lift MacBook Pro laptop ban on aircraft

By Phan Anh   November 2, 2019 | 06:00 pm PT
Vietnam to lift MacBook Pro laptop ban on aircraft
A 2016 15-inch MacBook Pro laptop. Photo courtesy of Apple Inc.
Civil aviation authorities will lift a flight ban it had imposed on certain 15-inch MacBook Pro laptops, starting November 15.

It has said that the 15-inch laptops produced between September 2015 and February 2017 that are either turned off or have their batteries replaced would no longer be banned on flights.

The new directive follows another one that had been issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) in August, saying lithium batteries that are either damaged or included in the recall list of their manufacturers for safety reasons would be banned from all Vietnamese airlines and all foreign airlines going in and out of Vietnam. The ban would apply to all devices containing these batteries as well.

The ban had followed a product recall order by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for possible fire hazards due to overheating batteries.

Around 432,000 laptops were affected by the product recall order. Apple had received 26 complaints the battery overheating, including five burns, one report of smoke inhalation and 17 reports of minor damage to nearby personal property.

However, the directive has been modified now, saying devices with these batteries can be taken on planes if the batteries have been replaced by their manufacturers, or if these devices are turned off for the duration of the flight.

 
 
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