Article Summary:

A few days ago Korean Airlines started asking passengers to remove batteries from their Dell laptops (any model, any battery) and from some models of Apple portables (PowerBook and iBook). Qantas is doing the same with Dell laptops. This is bad news for owners as you cannot use these laptops onboard the flights anymore, and the measures seem to be spreading. Here is the original text from the Korean Air website:

As a precautionary measure to ensure safe air travel, Korean Air kindly requests all passengers carrying any kind of Dell laptops (including those unaffected by recall), Apple’s iBook and Powerbook models first remove batteries from the unit before bringing them to the cabin. Until further advisory is issued, these laptops cannot be carried into the cabin if batteries are not removed.