India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has lifted restrictions placed on carrying the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones on commercial airplanes. However, this will only be applicable on devices purchased after September 15. The regulator had earlier banned the use of the smartphones in flights after several units started catching fire. This comes a few days after Samsung officials met with DGCA regarding an incident involving a Galaxy Note 2 phone catching fire onboard an IndiGo flight.
Users will be able to identify the new Galaxy Note 7 units as they will have a green battery icon. The company says that devices displaying this icon are safe to use and charge during the flight. A Samsung India spokesperson stated, “It is important to note that Samsung has not sold a single unit of Galaxy Note 7 in India so far. The ‘green battery icon’ will apply to all Galaxy Note 7 units that will be sold to customers in India when it is launched.”
A few days ago, a ‘safe’ Galaxy Note 7 unit had reportedly exploded while charging. Chinese user named Hui Renjie claims that his new phone had exploded while charging, burning two of his fingers and damaging his Macbook. Renjie says that he was visited by a Samsung representative, who offered to take the phone away. However, he said didn’t trust Samsung to reveal the reason for the fire.