Several airlines have decided to ban some older models of Apple’s 15-inch MacBook Pro laptops from their flights. The move followed Apple’s decision to recall some laptops that are deemed a fire risk due to a flaw in the lithium-ion battery.

Last June, Apple announced it would recall a “limited number” of 15-inch MacBook Pro units as their batteries were deemed a fire risk.

Apple has determined that, in a limited number of older generation 15-inch MacBook Pro units, the battery may overheat and pose a fire safety risk. Affected units were sold primarily between September 2015 and February 2017 and product eligibility is determined by the product serial number.

Apple website

Following the announcement, airlines had no choice but to ban the affected laptops, in accordance to the safety regulations from 2016 for products with batteries under recall.

How to know if your MacBook Pro is banned on airlines?

Travellers who have a 15-inch MacBook Pro laptop that is affected by the ban can not take their laptop on board, or even check them in, unless the traveller can prove that the flawed battery has been replaced. 

The MacBook Pro laptops that are affected by the ban were sold between September 2015 and February 2017. If you want to find out whether your MacBook Pro will be banned on your next flight, you can use you laptop’s serial number to check on Apple’s website if it is affected by the recall.

Which airlines have banned some MacBook Pro laptops?

Following the news, the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) banned the affected laptops on all flights, leading to all airlines in the US to be the first to ban the affected MacBook Pro laptops. Other airlines around the world followed.

It is unclear, however, how the airlines will identify the flawed laptops and how they will know a faulty battery has been replaced. Some airlines, like Thai Airways, have decided to ban all MacBook Pro laptops sold between September 2015 and February 2017, regardless of whether their batteries has been recalled or not.

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