Virgin America has distributed fire-containment bags

Oct 14, 2016 10:06 GMT  ·  By

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 was discontinued because the smartphone is prone to overheating and catching fire. Several major airlines have already banned the smartphone from their airplanes and it seems that the companies have taken even more security measures.

The Wall Street Journal reported that major airlines are stocking their planes with fire-containment bags to deal with potential incidents involving the Galaxy Note 7. It seems that Alaska Air Group and Virgin America have distributed bags to their entire mainline fleet.

Delta Airline plans to implement the same measure by the end of this year. Such containers will also be stored in airports so that staff can efficiently deal with potential Note 7 incidents.

The report mentions that the containment bags might be made of a similar material to that used in the Galaxy Note 7 return kit that Samsung started distributing to consumers. The bags will come equipped with special thermally insulated packaging and a pair of safety gloves for handling the smartphone.

The decision was made following the Southwest Airlines incident

Airlines made the decision to equip their fleet with such containment bags after a Galaxy Note 7 smartphone started catching fire while on a Southwest flight. Crew and passengers were evacuated and the flight was canceled. Following the incident, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission launched an investigation which led to the official recall of Note 7 smartphones.

Apparently, Samsung received 96 reports of batteries in the Note 7 overheating in the US. Twenty-three reports had been issued since the September 15 recall announcement. Reportedly, some of the incidents resulted in burns and property damage.

Samsung has since discontinued the Note 7 production and sale, and the phone maker is now working on retrieving all Galaxy Note 7 smartphones from owners. The devices won’t be sent to Samsung via air cargo, but using ground transportation.

Many shipping companies have already announced that they would ban the transportation of the Note 7 through their networks due to safety concerns. Note 7 owners are advised to power down their devices and return them to the place of purchase or contact Samsung and make arrangements.