A spokesperson for WestJet said in an email that the airline “is closely monitoring the situation but as of right now, there are no changes to our policy of allowing Samsung Galaxy 7 on WestJet aircraft”. Last week, Samsung ordered a global recall of the jumbo phones after its investigation of explosion reports found the rechargeable lithium batteries were at fault.
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Airline passengers should not turn on or charge their Samsung Electronics Co Ltd Galaxy Note 7 smartphones during flights or stow them in checked baggage, due to concerns over the phone’s fire-prone batteries, the US Federal Aviation Administration said.
Transport Canada is recommending the phones be carried in the cabin where an incident can be “immediately mitigated”, but also advises against using phones in the cabin.
Question for aviation experts: If your Galaxy Note 7 smartphone catches fire on a plane, how many 3-ounce bottles of liquid would it take to put it out?
Samsung has sold 2.5 million phones so far. The three biggest US airlines – American, Delta and United – said Friday that they were studying the FAA warning but it was unclear how they would make sure that passengers keep the Samsung devices powered off.
Delta Air Lines Inc DAL.N , the No. 2 USA airline by passenger traffic, said it is still studying the issue. CPSC also said it is working quickly to determine whether a replacement Galaxy Note7 is an acceptable remedy for Samsung or their phone carriers to provide to consumers. “An overheating of the battery cell occurred when the anode-to-cathode came into contact, which is a very rare manufacturing process error”.
They are the latest in ongoing efforts in the airline industry to manage the use of lithium-ion batteries, which are known to combust and are used in many devices, from phones and laptops to toys. To placate users, Samsung further offered consumers a US$25 gift card or bill credit from select carrier retail outlets.
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That followed a nonbinding warning issued Thursday by the Federal Aviation Administration. However, that report seems to be related to a Samsung news announcement in Australia.
