The U.S. is very particular about their security measures, and when it comes to TSA, the administration would go to any extreme level to make sure flights remain threat free. Apple has recalled the MacBook Pro laptops owning to their batteries being a fire risk.
In June, Apple recalled a limited number of 15-inch MacBook Pro units as its batteries were susceptible to overheating. Now the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has banned certain models of MacBook Pros that run on batteries that were recalled.
FAA’s spokesperson said in a statement, “The FAA is aware of the recalled batteries that are used in some Apple MacBook Pro laptops. In early July, we alerted airlines about the recall, and we informed the public. We issued reminders to continue to follow instructions about recalls outlined in the 2016 FAA Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) 16011, and provided information provided to the public on FAA’s Pacsafe website: https://www.faa.gov/hazmat/packsafe/.”
Now, these laptops are banned from being brought on flights as cargo or as carry-ons. This would not be the first time that the FAA has banned a certain gadget of a brand. Previously, the FAA had also banned the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 from being carried on a flight.
However, it would be difficult for the security to spot and single out the affected MacBook Pros as these models, unlike Samsung’s Note 7, do not have a distinct design. According to a report on Bloomberg, “It’s unclear what efforts will, if any, be made at U.S. airports.”
Even though Apple had refused to comment on this banning matter, when the Help Desk forum was asked about how to know if a single device had been affected or not, Apple asked them to go to their support page where the user can type in their laptop’s serial number to see if the machine is affected.
