DGCA Asks Indian Fliers Not to Carry Older 15-Inch MacBook Pro Laptops

Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the regulatory authority of civil aviation in India, has asked the air passengers in the country to stop carrying select units of 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro laptops, which were recalled by Apple over safety fears, in their hand or checked-in baggage. DGCA's notice comes over a month after US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had asked the fliers to do the same. Following which, the EU Aviation Safety Agency also did the same. Some airlines like Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways have also individually banned the affected MacBook Pro models in their flights.

“Consequent upon the recall of a limited number of older generation 15 inch MacBook Pro laptops by M/s Apple Inc. (sold primarily between September 2015 and February 2017) due to fears that their batteries may overheat and pose a safety risk, DGCA requests all air passengers not to fly with the affected models either as hand-baggage or checked in baggage until the battery has been verified/certified as safe or replaced by the manufacturer,” DGCA stated in a notice on Monday.

In June this year, Apple had announced a voluntary recall of a limited number of MacBook Pro laptops that were sold between September 2015 and February 2017 over safety risk. The Cupertino, California-based company has even set up a website for the consumers to check whether their MacBook Pro unit are affected. Apple had said at the time these laptops had a flawed battery that may overheat. The company was replacing the battery of the affected units free-of-charge.

It is unclear right now how DCGA or airlines plan to check whether a MacBook Pro unit being carried by a passenger includes a faulty battery.