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Virgin Atlantic has announced that it will now allow passengers onboard its flights to use their Dell or Apple laptops on battery power.

The company had initially banned the use of laptops using batteries on all its planes and stated that batteries must be removed from machines, wrapped up and stored separately.

The decision follows a scare about laptops fitted with certain Sony batteries, but carrier Virgin has now amended its regulations to allow passengers to take computers onboard and use them provided the batteries' serial numbers have been checked by cabin staff.

Dell and Apple were forced to recall more than five million batteries worldwide over safety fears relating to overheating and the threat of fire. A number of airlines, including Virgin Atlantic, Qantas and Korean Air responded by banning the batteries from being used onboard flights.

A new update on the Virgin Atlantic website states that 'customers wishing to use an Apple or Dell laptop on board can only do so once the laptop battery serial number has been checked by a member of the cabin crew'.

Batteries from affected batches of the Dell and Apple laptops must still be removed, though passengers seated next to power supplies can still use their machines during flights.

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