Following the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advice, airlines are in the process of banning certain 15 inch MacBook Pro laptop computers from being carried onboard their aircraft. Their concerns relate to the risk of battery fires that may occur with computers sold between September 2015 and February 2017. Note that affected models will not be allowed onboard aircraft.

To find out whether your computer has been affected, Apple is offering a battery replacement scheme. This requires the entry of serial numbers. If your MacBook Pro is affected by the recall, the guidance is to stop using it and return it for battery replacement. The battery replacement process takes between 1-2 weeks.

For those traveling with 15 inch MacBook Pros that are either not affected or have had their batteries replaced by Apple, the suggestion is to print out supporting documentation, travel with this information and use it if challenged. It seems that some airlines are enforcing a blanket ban on all 15 inch MacBooks.

Airlines that have enacted the ban on these computers include:

Emirates
Garuda
Etihad
Singapore Airlines
Air Italy
All US airlines
TUI Group
Thomas Cook Airlines
Virgin
Quantas
Thai Airlines
Air Transat

The FAA guidance means that the affected computers are not allowed on any in or outbound US flights.