As part of effort to guarantee safety on board, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has appealed again to air passengers not to turn on or charge smart phones on board aircraft in the country.
According to a statement signed by the General Manager, Public Affairs of NCAA, Mr. Sam Adurogboye, the appeal became necessary following recent reported incidents raised over some devices.
“NCAA is appealing to the passengers’ responsibilities in relation to ensuring safety and security of air transportation. Importantly, all airlines are hereby advised to emphasise the prohibition of these devices on board during passenger briefings by the Cabin Crew”, Adurogboye said.
He directed all those responsible for searching or screening checked-in baggage at the various airports to intensify the procedure to identify a certain brand of smart phones especially those with notorious records of overheating and outright explosion.
The regulatory agency recalled that it has recalled over 2.5 million Galaxy note 7 devices due to several explosions.
Adurogboye advised passengers and airline operators to ensure total adherence to this directive, as according, to him, safety and security of air transportation is paramount to the authority.
It would be recalled that the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had earlier warned airline passengers not to turn on or charge the new model smart phones during flights, following numerous reports of the devices catching fire.
FAA had also warned passengers not to put certain phones in their checked bags.

Corlins Walter