US and UK ban electronics on certain flights – what to tell your clients

Corporate travellers flying to the US and the UK via the Middle East or North Africa will need to check in their electronic devices following a ban issued by the Trump administration and the UK government.

The Trump administration has ordered nine airlines to stop passengers from bringing most types of electronic devices — except smartphones — into the cabin for US-bound flights.

The UK government announced a sweeping cabin ban on laptops and tablets on inbound flights from six countries.

CNN listed the key things travellers need to know.

 

Which airports are involved?

The US ban cover 10 airports, including major global hubs such as Dubai.

The full list is: Cairo, Egypt; Dubai and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Istanbul, Turkey; Doha, Qatar; Amman, Jordan; Kuwait City; Casablanca, Morocco; and Jeddah and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The U.K. list is shorter. It covers all inbound flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia but omits airports such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.

 

Which airlines are affected?

The nine airlines that operate direct flights to the US from affected airports are Egyptair, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Kuwait Airways, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Turkish Airlines.

Passengers will still be allowed to take electronic devices onto flights departing from the US.

The UK restrictions apply to 14 airlines: British Airways, EasyJet, Jet2.com, Monarch, Thomas Cook, Thomson, Turkish Airlines, Pegasus Airways, Atlas-Global Airlines, Middle East Airlines, Egyptair, Royal Jordanian, Tunis Air and Saudia.

 

Which devices are banned?

Smartphones will still be allowed. But passengers will have to check in any electronic devices bigger than that. That includes laptops, cameras, gaming devices and tablets such as iPads.

Medical devices required during the flight will still be allowed in the cabin after security screening.

 

When will it take effect?

The U.S. government officially notified the airlines at 3 a.m. ET Tuesday. They have 96 hours to fully comply.

And if they don’t? “We will work with the FAA to pull their certificate and they will not be allowed to fly to the United States,” one senior US official said.

The UK said it only that its measures would be introduced soon, and would be kept under constant review.

 

What are the airlines saying?

Turkish Airlines told passengers traveling to the U.S. that anything bigger than a smartphone must be checked in from March 25. Emirates also said it would implement the new measures for all passengers bound for the US from Dubai on Saturday.

Qatar Airways and EgyptAir said they would be applying the new instructions on March 24.

Other airlines, including Royal Jordanian and Saudi Arabian Airlines, have said they will implement the measures.

 

What’s the reason for the ban?

US officials say the move is a response to fears that terrorist groups may target passenger planes by smuggling explosive devices in consumer goods.

One official said there’s no specific plot authorities are aware of, but the US has been considering such a ban for some time.

 

Why these airports?

The US is especially concerned about the 10 airports in question, the official said, because of screening issues and the possibility of terrorists infiltrating the ranks of authorised airport personnel.

Officials said that they believe a threat to the U.S. would be negated if a passenger transferred through a secondary city with additional and more trustworthy screening procedures.

 

Isn’t it dangerous to put electronic devices in checked baggage?

Safety experts and regulators have long warned that batteries shipped in bulk could constitute a fire risk that ultimately could bring down an aircraft. The International Civil Aviation Organization advised global regulators last year to ban carrying bulk shipments of such batteries in the cargo holds of passenger jets.

But electronics spread out across a person’s luggage pose far less of a threat than palettes of lithium batteries, according to a U.S. aviation official.