DGCA relaxes ban on Samsung Note 7
Samsung got a breather in India as far as the Note 7 is concerned as the country’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), allowed passengers to use devices purchased after September 15 on flights.
“The restrictions (to not use the phones during flights) do not apply to Samsung Galaxy Note 7 purchased after September 15, 2016, which have a green battery charge indicator on its screen,” said a notice from DGCA.
On September 9, DGCA had prohibited the use of Galaxy Note 7 on flights and also carrying these in checked-in baggage, following incidents of the smartphone’s battery exploding in various countries.
The DGCA has said handsets bought after September 15 do not come under the restrictions that the regulator had laid down earlier. Sources said the Korean major was planning to re-launch the Note 7 in the third week of October in India. Till now the firm has not delivered any Note 7 device in the country and is in the process of assembling completely new handsets at its Greater Noida facility.
On Monday, in a high voltage meeting with the regulator, the firm had asked for more details on a burnt Note 2 handset — which had reportedly caught fire on Friday on an IndiGo flight. It also sought to examine the device in question.
To address the DGCA's concern and intentions to ban the entire Note series, Samsung had requested the regulator not to take any decision before a thorough investigation.
A Samsung spokesperson said: “The DGCA has issued an advisory to the travelling public and airline companies today, lifting the restrictions on in-flight use of the new Samsung Galaxy Note 7 purchased after September 15, 2016. Customers can identify the new Galaxy Note 7 with the ‘green battery icon’. Devices displaying this visual icon are safe to charge and use during flights. It is important to note that Samsung has not sold a single unit of Galaxy Note 7 in India. The ‘green battery icon’ will apply to all Galaxy Note 7 units that will be sold to customers in India when it is launched.”
DGCA has said handsets bought after September 15 do not come under the restrictions that the regulator had laid down earlier