Airlines no longer need to warn passengers about Galaxy Note 7
But they probably still will anyway.
If you've flown recently, you've likely heard a series of warnings around Samsung's beleaguered Galaxy Note 7. At first, you could bring it on board, but only if it was turned off. Eventually, the FAA banned it outright -- it's now not allowed on any flight, even in cargo. Flight personnel have been instructed to repeat these warnings ad nauseam for the past few months. But now, they don't have to anymore.
In a press release, the FAA said that US airlines no longer need to make pre-boarding notifications that the Galaxy Note 7 is prohibited. The phone is still banned of course, but according to the Department of Transportation, there is now sufficient public awareness about the ban that the warnings are no longer necessary.
It said that this is in part due to "extensive efforts by Samsung and US wireless providers to make all Note 7 users aware the phone is recalled and banned from transport from US aircraft." The company also announced recently that the recall was a success, with more than 96 percent of phones in the US returned thus far. It also gave credence to various efforts by carriers to disable the phone with a software update.
Of course, as the phone continues to be banned, this doesn't really change anything in regards to passenger behavior. Individual airlines can continue to offer the same warning too if they like. What it does do, however, is make Samsung breathe a little easier as it attempts to dig itself out of this PR nightmare. Not having its failure repeated before every flight will probably limit damage to its reputation. Now all Samsung needs to do is explain what really went wrong, and customers could soon learn to trust it again.
