Travelers flying from Bradley International Airport are hearing a new announcement about Samsung’s newest smartphone, the Galaxy Note 7, because of exploding batteries and fires.
The Federal Aviation Administration “strongly advises passengers not to turn on or charge these devices on-board aircraft and not to stow them in any checked baggage."
“In light of recent incidents and concerns raised by Samsung about its Galaxy Note 7 devices, the Federal Aviation Administration strongly advises passengers not to turn on or charge these devices on board aircraft and not to stow them in any checked baggage,” s statement on the FAA website says.
This warning comes after more than 35 reports of fires starting from the tablet’s lithium-ion battery overheating.
Samsung has already sold nearly 3 million of the devices and has urged users to return the phones and wait for replacements.
Now passengers at Bradley are hearing the message as they make their way to their destinations.
"I'd rather not have the plane blow up because your phone blows up,” Dennis O'Connor, a passenger, said. “Airplanes are pretty volatile as it is so a small explosion like that you don't know what it can trigger off."
Airline officials said passengers are hearing this announcement more than once -- at the gate and once they get on board.
Airline staff said the announcement is now programed into their on-board system to be read before flights.
