Qantas, Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines are the latest airlines to ban the troubled Samsung Galaxy Note 7 on all flights.

The decision comes after the United States Department of Transportation banned the phones from all flights travelling in and out of the US, and takes effect from midnight tonight.

Samsung has permanently ended production of the phones, and recalled millions globally, after complaints of exploding batteries.

The company is offering to exchange Note 7s for other products or refund them.

Galaxy Note 7 users have reportedly been sent return kits which contain gloves to handle the device as well as a number of special thermally-insulated boxes to ship the phones back in.

Samsung announced the recall of 2.5 million Note 7s in early September following numerous reports of the phones catching fire.

On Wednesday, it finally pulled the plug on the $882 device in what could be one of the costliest product safety failures in tech history.

The decision to scrap the Note 7 came after fresh reports of fires in replacement devices prompted new warnings from regulators, phone carriers and airlines.

ABC/Reuters