DUBAI - Civil aviation authorities in the Emirates have banned the use of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 on all its national carriers because of the risk of batteries exploding in the "phablet" smartphone. Samsung last week suspended sales of its 'phablet' Galaxy Note 7 and recalled 2.5 million units. "The General Civil Aviation Authority has banned operating, charging and carrying in bags the Samsung Note 7 on board national carriers' flights," it said in a statement carried by the official WAM news agency on Saturday. Dubai's Emirates Airline, the largest Middle East carrier, said it will comply "immediately" with the instruction from civil aviation. Another carrier in the United Arab Emirates, Etihad Airways, has already temporarily banned the use of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones on board its flights, and the UAE also has two low-cost airlines, flydubai and Air Arabia.

Source: Bangkok Post September 10, 2016 15:00 UTC