It turns out that the `MacBook Air SuperDrive` doesn’t work by default on Linux even though the device is properly recognized.
After some research on the web, I found this and this to find out how to make it work.
I ended up creating the file /etc/udev/rules.d/60-apple-superdrive.rules with the content:
# Apple's USB SuperDrive
ACTION=="add", ATTRS{idProduct}=="1500", ATTRS{idVendor}=="05ac", DRIVERS=="usb", RUN+="/usr/bin/sg_raw /dev/$kernel EA 00 00 00 00 00 01"
And triggered the command:
udevadm trigger
Now the device accepts the insertion of CDs