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Minister Joram Gumbo

Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
NATIONAL airline Air Zimbabwe has banned Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 smartphone from its flights with immediate effect.

After reports of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones catching fire spread in early September, a number of airlines around the world effected a ban on the phones.

The Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Dr Joram Gumbo, said following consultations, Air Zimbabwe had also taken a similar stance. “After consultations by the national airline, it’s been agreed that we follow the global stance by other airlines to ban the cellphone in our planes for the safety of passengers and our planes as well.

“Air Zimbabwe will today (yesterday) start issuing out statements or notices to that effect so that our safety record remains intact,” he said.

According to the airline, Air Zimbabwe’s proud history hinges on its enviable safety record, the exceptional skills of its pilots, technical and ground staff and its strong in-flight customer services.

The Galaxy Note 7 smartphone ban is meant to ensure that it maintains that record.

Samsung recalled around 2,5 million phones in September after complaints of exploding batteries.

While it later insisted that all replaced devices were safe, there were reports that those phones were catching fire too.

The company then said it would stop the production of Galaxy Note 7 phones.

Carriers in Australia, Asia and Europe put the phone on a prohibited list in the past week, which comes after the US banned the device last week.

The bans are spreading worldwide. —@pchitumba1.