Late today a report is claiming that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has banned certain models of Apple's MacBook Pro laptops on flights, after the company recalled select units which had batteries posing fire risks.

The FAA said in a statement to The Hill it was "aware of the recalled batteries that are used in some Apple MacBook Pro laptops” and that it had informed major U.S. airlines of the recall.

The agency went on to remind airlines to follow 2016 safety instructions for products containing recalled batteries, which would mean that the affected laptops should not be taken on airplanes as cargo or in carry-on baggage.

The move echoes a similar warning from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency earlier this month to regional airlines about the MacBook models, saying they should follow 2017 rules mandating devices with recalled lithium-ion batteries to be turned off and not used during flights.

The products in question are some 15-inch MacBook Pros sold between September 2015 and February 2017. Apple said in June it had 'determined that, in a limited number of older generation 15-inch MacBook Pro units, the battery may overheat and pose a fire safety risk.'"

Bloomberg's report on this story noted that "This week, four airlines with cargo operations managed by Total Cargo Expertise (TSE) -- TUI Group Airlines, Thomas Cook Airlines, Air Italy, and Air Transat -- implemented a ban, barring the laptops from being brought onto the carriers’ planes as cargo.

A TCE operations coordinator wrote to employees stating: "Please note that the 15-inch Apple MacBook Pro laptop, sold between mid-2015 to February-2017 is prohibited on board any of our mandate carriers."  

A spokesperson for TUI Group Airlines said airport staff and flight attendants will start making announcements about these MacBook Pros at the gate and before takeoff. Laptops that have replaced batteries won’t be impacted, the spokesperson said.

According to a Canadian notice from June, about 432,000 MacBook Pros sold in the U.S. were included in the recall. Roughly 26,000 units sold in Canada were impacted, too, while the number sold in Europe hasn’t been disclosed. For more on this story, read the Bloomberg report.

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