Europe follows FAA lead on Samsung Galaxy flight risk

Europe’s air safety regulator Friday followed the lead of its US counterpart urging passengers not to use or charge Samsung Electronics’s Galaxy Note 7 smartphone in flight. The European Aviation Safety Agency said passengers should not pack the smartphone in checked bags, also echoing the FAA guidance. A spokesman said a so called Safety Information Bulletin about the restrictions was being sent to European national aviation authorities that enforce safety rules. The FAA late Thursday said the Galaxy Note 7 phones should not be used on board planes because of the a potential airborne fire hazard. Air safety regulators have long had concerns about transporting some lithium batteries on planes, because of the potential fire hazard. Late last year hoverboards, the gliding vehicles which were a popular Christmas present, raised similar safety concerns because of the risk their batteries could catch fire.<br/>