The South Korean smartphone giant this month issued a global voluntary recall of some 2.5M of the Note7 due to a battery problem which some users have claimed has exploded or caught fire.
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Since then, at least two more cases have been reported, including at hotel in Perth, prompting the company to call for an “immediate” end to all use by customers.
A spokesperson for Australian airline Qantas told BuzzFeed News that it and subsidiary airline Jetstar began asking passengers not to use or charge the Samsung phone on planes last week.
It did so after United States aviation safety officials warned airline passengers not to turn on or charge the phone during flights or put them in checked bags.
This follows reports from Samsung that the smartphone’s battery poses a threat of fire once it becomes overheated.
Scandinavian Airlines said on Saturday that it has prohibited passengers from using the Galaxy Note7 on its flights because of concerns about fires. “We will voluntarily replace your Galaxy Note7 device with a new one, beginning on September 19th”, Samsung said.
Several airlines around the world, including Scandinavian Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Cebu Pacific, asked travelers not switch on the jumbo smartphone or put it in checked baggage, with some carriers banning the phone on flights.
The commission is still deciding whether Samsung can issue replacement Galaxy Note7s.
The Chinese company is set to become the sole battery supplier for Samsung by shipments for the time being since the company stopped receiving batteries from its main provider and has not found a third supplier.
PIA isn’t the the only airliner that has banned Note 7 on flights, earlier UAE, India, Australia and various other countries banned the usage of Note 7 devices on all national airlines.
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All Samsung Galaxy Note 7 units – whether used or brand new – will not be accepted as PAL cargo shipment, it added.
