The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday issued an advisory for passengers in India not to travel with a certain older model of MacBook Pro laptops after Apple flagged overheating and safety issues with the batteries. Two months ago, Apple had announced a voluntary recall of a limited number of older generation 15-inch laptops that contained a battery that may overheat and pose a safety risk. These were units that were sold between September 2015 and February 2017 and did not affect any other 15-inch MacBook Pro units or other Mac notebooks.
“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,” the DGCA said in a notice.
— DGCA (@DGCAIndia) August 26, 2019
According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there's a chance that the devices sold between September 2015 and February 2017 could overheat and potentially cause fires. Apple had asked customers to stop using the affected 15-inch MacBook Pro units and opt for a voluntary battery replacement. To get more details about the affected laptops, customers can visit this page for details on product eligibility and how to have a battery replaced, free of charge.
“To confirm which model you have, choose About This Mac from the Apple menu in the upper-left corner of your screen. If you have “MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015),” enter your computer's serial number on the program page to see if it is eligible for a battery replacement,” Apple had said in a statement.
After Apple’s notification, the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and several foreign airlines like Thai Airways, and Singapore Airlines – a major operator in India – banned the affected laptops on all flights