Airline bans suspect… notebook batteries
Just to add to the frustration of the techie air traveller, a South Korean airline has banned passengers from travelling with notebook computers suspected of having a defective battery, lest it explodes and causes a fire mid-flight. Having said that, they will be usable by removing the battery and running them from AC power.
Korean Air aren’t the only airline to have implemented this. There’s no indication how long this will go on for, but given that a recall and free replacement service is being offered by both Dell and Apple, it can’t be permanent.
Still, there’s no way of knowing without examining the battery serial number whether it’s affected or not, so maybe a future check-in will involve scrutinising of the tiny print with a magnifying glass prior to flight.
And on a related note, just to add to Apple and Dell’s woes (particularly Apple, I think) environmental group Greenpeace have said they’ll be keeping a close eye on how the recalled batteries are disposed of.
So they won’t be loading them into a big truck and dumping them by the side of the M6 then…
