Another Samsung smartphone fire on flight triggers ban, new security checks at airports

Photo credit: Public domain pictures.

There’s no end of woes for Samsung.

A few weeks ago, Singapore, Australia, the US, India, and other countries banned the Samsung’s Galaxy Note7 on its airlines. Passengers were strictly prohibited from using Galaxy Note7 on board airplanes after a series of explosions due to the smartphone’s battery malfunctions were reported, prompting Samsung to formally recall Note7.

Now it looks like Samsung’s in hot soup not just with its Note7 but also Note2. Yesterday, a Galaxy Note2 smartphone caught fire inside a flight from Singapore to Chennai. “IndiGo confirms that a few passengers travelling on 6E-054 flight from Singapore to Chennai noticed the smoke smell in the cabin this morning…and immediately alerted the cabin crew on board,” the airline said in a statement.

This is the first such incident on an Indian flight, and it had India’s aviation regulator immediately issuing a warning against use of Galaxy Note series on flights.

“We are aware of an incident involving one of our devices. At Samsung, customer safety is our highest priority. We are in touch with relevant authorities to gather more information, and are looking into the matter,” an official statement from Samsung said.

Samsung had launched Galaxy Note2 in October 2012 and had within a year sold over 30 million units. In the case of Galaxy Note7, it has sold 2.5 million units globally, the bulk of them in the US, which are now being recalled. It faces a much bigger problem in dealing with the Note2 because many more of them are out there.

Last week, I took an IndiGo flight to Bangalore, and was surprised when security officials at the airport asked me if I had a Samsung phone on me and didn’t quite believe me until they checked my Oppo phone. I am not sure if they can identify a Note7 easily – so though the aviation authorities have specifically banned use of the Note7, the officials on ground seem to enforce a prohibition on all smartphones from the South Korean giant.

While Samsung has to deal with the blow to its brand and business, travellers face a new security protocol to add to the several others at airports aimed at ensuring safety of fliers.

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from Tech in Asia https://www.techinasia.com/samsung-galaxy-note2-catches-fire-singapore-chennai-flight
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