DCA Malaysia issues directive on bringing Galaxy Note7 on flights

Since Samsung’s recent troubles with the Galaxy Note7 that had their batteries igniting in separate incidents, it’s understandable that people are somewhat up in arms over their latest flagship phone. They’ve issued a general global recall for the Note7 and offered free replacement devices though several of them also caught fire. Since then, they’ve unfortunately stopped production and have terminated sales of the Galaxy Note7 around the world, leading to a premature end to what could have been the best contender to knock out Apple’s iPhone 7.

To date, Samsung’s internal testing teams have yet to replicate what caused these incidents to happen though speculation points at the battery at this time. Seeing the rather combustible nature of the phones, several airlines around the world have had knee jerk reactions ranging from allowing it onboard but off all the way up to blanket bans on not allowing it onboard a flight in any form or fashion. This has resulted in several passengers who’ve bought their Note7s overseas with no way to return them or even with people who can’t return home on account of possessing a Note7 unless they leave their phone off the plane. Samsung has ameliorated this somewhat with exchange counters at major airports worldwide where users can drop their Note7s off in exchange for another Samsung smartphone. Even with the recall, some of the most dedicated users have refused to return it with Mashable editor Josh Dickey stating that he would return his Note7 “over my dead body”.

In a statement today, the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) of Malaysia has issued an official directive stating that passengers carrying a Galaxy Note7 are allowed to board airlines if they leave the phone off and not charge it during the flight. The phone however must be kept in the passenger’s possession and not in checked baggage, cabin luggage or the back seat pockets in the cabin. The directive comes into effect on October 17. If you still have a Galaxy Note7 in Malaysia, it’s best you return it to where you purchased it for an exchange to a Galaxy S7 edge or a full refund. For more details check out our prior piece here.