More airlines ban MacBook Pro laptops in checked luggage over fire concerns

Restrictions on MacBook Pro laptops on flights spread, with Qantas Airways Ltd. barring some models from checked-in luggage on concern that batteries could catch fire.

All 15-inch versions of Apple Inc.’s MacBook Pro must be carried in the cabin and switched off, Qantas said in a statement Wednesday. The rule went into effect Tuesday morning. Rival Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd. went further on Aug. 26, banning all Apple laptops from checked-in luggage.

Australia’s two biggest airlines join a growing list of carriers and jurisdictions across the world cracking down on the portable computers out of concern some could self-combust.