If you fly to these countries, you will no longer be allowed to use an electronic device on an airplane
Today we learned the new presidential administration will be issuing travel directives and will ban large personal electronics on flights to the U. S. from 10 international airports early Tuesday morning. Flights from Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates will be affected, requiring all electronics larger than a cell phone be placed in checked baggage.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the new rule, writing on its website:
“The U.S. Government is concerned about terrorists’ ongoing interest in targeting commercial aviation, including transportation hubs over the past two years, as evidenced by the 2015 airliner downing in Egypt, the 2016 attempted airliner downing in Somalia, and the 2016 armed attacks against airports in Brussels and Istanbul.”
Only flights from the 10 specified airports will be affected, but anyone traveling to the U.S. from those locations won’t be able to bring laptops, tablets, games consoles, cameras, or portable DVD players on the plane in their carry-on luggage or personal item.
The US has imposed an electronics ban on ✈️ from major Middle Eastern and African airports. What you need to know: https://t.co/Sb6v0LQL9Z pic.twitter.com/vEpj3Awshk
— CNN (@CNN) March 21, 2017
The U.K. will reportedly issue a similar directive for flights from specific Middle Eastern countries, but there has been no official announcement yet, and it’s unclear if the potential ban will affect the same airports.
Trump’s initial travel ban, prohibiting non-U.S. citizens from entering the country from seven Muslim countries, created immediate chaos at airports, as the executive order wasn’t clear how airport security officials should enforce it. The Department of Homeland Security gave airports and airlines 96 hours to comply with the new electronics rule. The biggest expected problem will be getting through security at the affected airports, as people carrying the now-banned electronics probably won’t want to throw away a laptop like a large bottle of shampoo. Bloomberg reports that electronics will likely be transferred to the hold or stored at the airports to be picked up later.
Stay tuned for more news.
