“Before I got on thte plane we had to let them know if we had one,” said Andreas Syllaba of Washington Twp.
The U.S. Department of Transportation and other federal agencies on Friday announced the emergency order to ban all Samsung Galaxy Note7 smartphone devices following documents incidents of the lithium batteries overheating and catching fire. The ban took effect at noon for the smartphone, now labeled a forbidden hazardous material.
Before, travelers were allowed to fly with the Samsung Galaxy Note7, but with some restrictions, such as not using it during the flight or charging it on the plane.
“They assumed everybody had heard an announcement about it at some point and basically joked about if you had that phone you should keep it shut off for the entire flight because they’ve been catching on fire,” said Thistle West of Berkely, Calif., of her experience flying before the ban went into effect.
West said she hopes anyone who still had that smartphone — Samsung has offered a full refund to its customers — was aware of the travel ban on all flights in the United States. “I would be really frustrated. I would want my phone company to let me know that in advance. I wouldn’t want to be surprised by that right at the TSA (U.S. Transportation Security Administration) gate,” she said.
Local airport security officials said flyers caught with the banned phones at security checkpoints will be asked to return to the ticket counter and to leave them behind.
The federal agencies, including the U.S. DOT and FAA, said flyers may be denied boarding and if they try to evade the ban by packing the smartphone in their checked luggage or carry-on bag they may be subject to criminal prosecution in addition to fines.
“We are taking this additional step because even one fire incident in-flight poses a high risk of severe personal injury and puts many lives at risk,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a statement.
Click here for more information on how to return a recalled Galaxy Note7 device to the manufacturer, call 1-800-SAMSUNG or 1-800-726-7864.