According to reports by USA Today, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 devices will be banned from all airline flights after close to a hundred phones started overheating and sometimes injuring owners.
The Transportation Secretary, Anthony Foxx is quoted to have said that the Agency recognizes that the banning would inconvenience a lot of passengers but safety for all those on board is priority.
The FAA had previously pleaded with travelers not to put on their phones or charge them during a flight.
The ban was made effective from noon today.
It would be recalled that Samsung announced Monday it was halting production of the device after some updated versions of the phones continued to overheat, following a recall of the first version.
The Company has said that it will communicate the ban to travelers, but they have also encouraged airlines to issue similar communications directly to their passengers.
The company said in a statement on Friday, “We realize this is an inconvenience but your safety has to remain our top priority.”
This flight ban translates to the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 now being considered a forbidden hazardous material under the Federal Hazardous Material Regulations which blocks airline passengers or crew from traveling with lithium cells or batteries or portable electronic devices that are likely to generate a dangerous amount of heat.
Any passenger who attempts to travel by air with the phones can be confiscated and also be fined, according to the department.
Note that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has also banned the use of the Galaxy Note 7 on all aircrafts.