Virgin Atlantic restricts use of Dell, Apple laptops

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Source: CBC News

Virgin Atlantic restricts use of Dell, Apple laptops

Virgin Atlantic has banned the use of battery-powered Apple or Dell laptop computers on international flights after recalls over fears they could overheat and catch fire.

"Customers wanting to use an Apple or Dell laptop on board can only do so if the battery is removed," says an advisory on Virgin Atlantic's website.

The website also said that on flights where no in-seat power is provided, "the use of Apple and Dell laptops is prohibited."

Dell recalled 4.1 million laptop batteries in August, a move followed days later by Apple's recall of 1.8 million of the power cells.

Virgin is the third airline to ban the use of the Apple and Dell computers on battery power. Qantas and Korean Air both issued bans on the laptops in August.

The Lithium-ion laptop batteries in question were made by Sony. Dell recalled 4.1 million laptop batteries last month, a move followed days later by Apple's recall of 1.8 million of the power cells.