To Top It Off
The Galaxy Note 7 being recalled worldwide fell into an unexpected ambush. After major global airliners banned the use of the Galaxy Note 7 and luggage with the device in on flights, they refused to transport air cargoes with the Galaxy Note 7 in. This action is expected to cause a delay in its recall schedule.
On the other hand, as the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) which virtually controls international aviation policies announced regulations on the Galaxy Note 7, it seemed that airliners of other countries were following suit, said some representatives of the smartphone industry.
Finally, they are raising strong suspicions that US authorities intend to use battery accidents to create a market situation advantageous to US companies.
“Up until last weekend, airliners transported the Galaxy Note 7. But last weekend, as the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport decided to put a ban on the use of the device on flights, we are reconsidering transporting the device on airplanes,” said a representative of a Korean airliner. “The final decision has not been made yet but additional measures will be taken for safety in the logistics process such as loading airplanes with the product.”
Global airliners and governments around the world began to prohibit passengers from using the latest Samsung smartphone model on planes and sending it in luggage one after another as the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a US federal government organization, officially recommended consumers to turn off the Galaxy Note 7 and not to use the handset last Friday.
Accordingly, there are deepening concerns that Samsung’s global recalls of the Galaxy Note 7 to be started on September 19 may hit a snag.
Samsung Electronics will begin to exchange the Galaxy Note 7 in Korea on September 19. In the US, the smartphone giant decided to set a recall schedule by discussing it with the US CPSC. In Australia, the company will start to exchange the product on September 21.
Samsung Electronics pushed forward exchanges of old products with new ones at similar times in ten countries where the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 hit shelves in the market ahead of others. To prevent any delays in its recall schedule, Samsung Electronics is having a blitz on the recall process such as putting its Gumi Plant in North Gyeongsang Province into normal operation during the Chuseok holidays from September 14 to 16. But if and when air transportation plans are deranged, global exchanges have no choice but to be delayed.
Transporting collected Galaxy Note 7 devices with potential fire risks will be quite tough work, too. This is because it will be a real challenge to find airlines that will transport the recalled products with possibilities of bursting into a fire.
“At the moment, we are focusing on whether or not we can exchange products quickly,” said a representative of Samsung Electronics. “Right now, we are not considering how to bring back recalled products.”