Virgin Atlantic has changed its policy banning the use of battery-powered Dell and Apple laptops following complaints from a Times Online reader. The airline had originally slapped an outright ban on using battery power for the laptops after the two manufacturers issued a worldwide recall for batteries. The recall was prompted by the potential risk of the battery – made by Sony - catching fire.

However, the recall only affected certain batteries made in the last couple of years and a Virgin Atlantic passenger Angus Batey contacted Times Online to say he had complained to the airline about the blanket nature of the ban but had not received a reply. After being put in touch with a member of Virgin’s senior management, the ban was made less restrictive.

“They are now issuing cabin staff with the lists of battery serial numbers as supplied by Apple and Dell, so will be able to check to see if an individual's computer has the potential to cause a problem or not,” says Batey. “This seems a sane and reasonable response to the problem but it’s a pity it took numerous complaints [from other customers] about their first implementation of the ban to get them around to this position.”

The new rules mean that if your battery is identified by a crew member as safe, it will be permitted for use on board. If the battery’s serial number is on the list, it must be removed, individually wrapped and placed in your carry-on luggage. The laptop may be powered through the in-seat power supplies but this facility is not available in economy class.