The American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has banned specific Apple MacBook Pro laptop models from flights in the States. These models are part of an ongoing voluntary recall due to battery issues. The FAA ban has come about because those notebooks pose a fire risk on airplanes.

According to Reuters, an FAA spokesperson said the agency was “aware of the recalled batteries that are used in some Apple MacBook Pro laptops”, adding that it had alerted American airlines about the recall.

It could be you

The notebooks that are banned from American flights are those affected by Apple’s voluntary recall earlier this year. Around 430,000 notebooks sold in the States are subject to recall thanks to battery issues, along with some 26,000 sold in Canada. Recalled notebooks need to have their batteries replaced. It may seem like the issue wasn’t going to have an impact on us here in South Africa but that may not be the case.

Since we know that South Africans don’t confine their purchases to local sources, you might have one of those notebooks in your possession. The affected models are 15in MacBook Pros from mid-2015 that were sold between 2015 and 2017. Not all of them. But a chunk of them, bits of which may have landed here in South Africa.

There’s an easy enough way to find out if your prized Apple hardware can still travel on American planes (and needs its battery changed). Apple’s got a website where you can stick in a serial number to find out whether you’ve got a good ‘un or a bad ‘un. Head there now, especially if you’ve got a spot of American travel in your near future.

Source: Reuters