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Some Airlines Banning All MacBook Pros From Checked Luggage and Preventing Use During Flights
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Just for the record. Airplanes are made out of aluminium, well mostly anyway, and that combined with a lithium iron battery catching fire, it will burn right through the floor. It generates its own oxygen and a fire extinguisher isn’t going to help. Next to that. The emergency oxygen for passengers isn’t going to last very long and so it can become a real problem.
They developed some technology, but it was too heavy and expensive and didn't always work. The US instituted 100% x-ray screening of checked bags and prohibited cargo from the public on passenger aircraft. Europe relies on passenger bag matching instead.
It's financial as well. If somebody's laptop catches on fire, they're going to have to divert. That's easily $10,000 in fuel and maintenance to land and take off, plus $20-30k for a one-hour delay due to missed flights, plus even more money when it happens over the Pacific and you have to figure out how to get a replacement flight crew, mechanics, and fire extinguishers to Kamchatka.
Besides, the other 249 people on board are going to be pissed at the idiot with the laptop.
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My MBP has a DVD drive. Surely it is easily distinguishable from the others.
As for battery fire in a carry-on. The reason it is preferred to a checked bag is its noticed sooner, its accessible, and many airlines are equipment the crew with a “containment” unit to place device in.
Further, a battery fire by itself in the open isn’t going to spread. Put it on the bathroom floor, it won’t spread. In luggage in the hold, the fire will spread to clothing, other bags, etc and become an inferno. Even with cargo hold fire suppression systems, it will more than likely impact structure or wiring before its extinguished.
As for battery fire in a carry-on. The reason it is preferred to a checked bag is its noticed sooner, its accessible, and many airlines are equipment the crew with a “containment” unit to place device in.
Further, a battery fire by itself in the open isn’t going to spread. Put it on the bathroom floor, it won’t spread. In luggage in the hold, the fire will spread to clothing, other bags, etc and become an inferno. Even with cargo hold fire suppression systems, it will more than likely impact structure or wiring before its extinguished.
Shareholder love him just look at the value gain in the last years.
Maybe you are the one who should wake up.
While this is a bit of an overreaction, airlines and flight attendants just don’t have the time nor the knowledge to differentiate between Macbook models. So yeah, expect widespread bans of anything that looks like a laptop with an Apple logo. This is going to be epically bad in terms of image.
Those next iPhones better be mind-shatteringly revolutionary to wipe out this PR disaster.
Those next iPhones better be mind-shatteringly revolutionary to wipe out this PR disaster.
Fires in airplanes have been a big concern since the Wright brothers. So has been carrying anything potentially flammable in an airplane like lighters, vaping devices, electronic gear, etc. And for good reason. There have been a number of major accidents due to fires. If you ever do flight training as a civilian or commercial pilot, an inflight fire is one of the things they drill into you that a real killer and a terrible way to die.
Actually it’s shear laziness. There have been recalled batteries for all sorts of laptops as well as many fires from knock-off replacement batteries. The only reason airlines are taking this step is because the MBP design is easily recognizable, not because it’s hard to tell them apart. It’s easy for the crew to say “better safe than sorry” but ignore the myriad other products people use that could be faulty because to memorize a list of obscure things is impossible.
Stopped reading after the first sentence.
That’s not how business works. It’s not that damn easy.
They’re literally banning MacBooks that haven’t been recalled in this article. That’s why I’m saying if they really want to be super super safe, ban all laptops.
Sure. The shipping containers for something such as a 747 / MD-11 / etc are designed in a way that they will help contain the fire for a bit, but your run of the mill 737 doesn't use those. Bags are tossed (placed) in the cargo bay and the door is closed.
And even so, halon (which is used in both fixed and portable aircraft fire extinguishing systems) has proven to be ineffective against lithium ion battery fire.
Easy way to check, model number on every device Apple products are the easiest to check as you just type in the model number in google so don’t understand why they find it hard guess they need basic IT training and any device with a lithium ion battery is at risk due to air pressure and keeping them turned off do nothing still drawing power
Exactly. It only takes one to bring down a plane if it's not caught in time.
Holy knee-jerk reaction! I bought a refurbished Mid'15 MBP and ran it through the Apple website and it said I'm fine. I don't have a trip involving a flight but I'm curious what others have experienced.
Waiting for one would be a poor business decision. The investigation after the fact would be expensive, and you would read about evidence that they knew about the potential hazard.
I flew 2 times this week with my 15" MBP. TSA did not care, right though the scanner no questions asked. There were no announcements on the planes (SWA). I did not pull out the system in flight. But the guy next to me had a MacBook (going in SJC - Silicon Valley - everyone has a MacBook) and they said nothing as he coded away in C++.