Russian airlines ask passengers not to use Galaxy Note 7 on board

MOSCOW, Sep 16 (PRIME) -- A growing number of Russian airlines do not recommend passengers carry Samsung smartphones Galaxy Note 7 in baggage and charge them on board, according to the airlines’ statements, seen by PRIME on Friday.

The Federal Air Transport Agency is studying information on the Galaxy Note 7 to grade the level of threat to flight safety and asked airlines for their opinion.

The Galaxy Note 7, the South Korean company’s latest flagship, has become infamous for repeated incidents of battery explosions.

S7 Airlines and Aeroflot have already issued their recommendations regarding carrying of the smartphones.

“For the sake of safety, Rossiya Airlines strongly recommends passengers against carrying Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones in baggage, switch off phones of this model during the whole flight, keep them in view and avoid charging them on board,” the company said.

Aviation regulators and airlines in several countries also advised clients not to switch on Galaxy Note 7 phones on board.

Earlier in September, Samsung suspended sales of the Galaxy Note 7. The company pledged to replace faulty devices with new ones for free worldwide.

Samsung said that it would deliver smartphones to Russia from newly manufactured batches of the device.

The exact date of unveiling the smartphone on the Russian market will be made public later. The producer started selling the Galaxy Note 7 on August 19 in 10 countries.

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