Concerns of overheating batteries leading to potential fire risks have forced the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to ban 15-inch MacBooks manufactured between September 2015 and February 2017 on flights in Vietnam.
The ban comes after Apple issued a recall and battery replacement program for 432,000 laptops following 26 complaints of overheating. Passengers who attempt to ignore the August 21 announcement can be denied boarding for their flight and fined. Authorities are working with flight crews and airport staff to implement a set of procedures to respond to the situation. Check if your laptop came from the batch in question here.
The United States Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), European Aviation Safety Agency and Thailand's aviation sector have issued similar bans. Laptops with replaced batteries are allowed, though some critics have commented on the difficulties and hassles associated with proving a computer no longer contains the banned batteries. They further caution that a viral video of a computer bursting into flames like a Charizard fart mid-flight could cause a PR nightmare.
[Photo via zdnet]
