Electronics Ban Implemented on Certain Passenger Flights
If you plan on traveling to the United States or the United Kingdom from the Middle East or Africa in the near future, you might have to pack your laptops and tablets in your checked luggage. Last week, in response to an “unspecified terrorism threat,” U.S. authorities have formalized a new ban on devices larger than a cell phone, prohibiting them from being carried onto certain U.S.-bound foreign airline flights. Officials described this measure as “necessary, effective and proportionate" to protect against aviation-related terrorist threats. U.S. intelligence has determined that the practice of building bombs and other explosives into these larger electronic devices has recently been favored and encouraged by certain terrorist organizations.
The airports that will be affected by this ruling include:
- Mohammed V International, Casablanca, Morocco
- Ataturk Airport, Istanbul, Turkey
- Cairo International Airport, Egypt
- Queen Alia International, Amman, Jordan
- King Abdulaziz International, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- King Khalid International, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Kuwait International Airport
- Hamad International, Doha, Qatar
- Abu Dhabi International, United Arab Emirates
- Dubai International, United Arab Emirates
While it seems that these will be the only airports affected in the immediate future, security experts suspect that this policy will continue to spread to other nations, and may even be enacted on domestic flights, as threats and aviation security measures are constantly evolving.
