Laptop ban on flights from Middle Eastern airports: advice for travellers
Nick Trend considers the impact of a ban on electronic devices on flights from six north African and Middle Eastern countries on travellers.
1. What has happened?
The Government has banned electronic devices larger than a smartphone from being carried on flights into the UK from six countries. Anyone flying from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia will have to put electronic devices in their hold luggage.
The ban followed a similar ban by the US Department of Homeland Security, which banned large electronic devices from cabins on flights from specified airports from eight countries into the United States.
International airports affected by electronics ban
2. Why has the ban been implemented?
There is a fear that terrorists are planning to smuggle a “laptop bomb” onto commercial flights. Enough explosives can be hidden in a laptop to bring down a passenger jet: last year the Somali insurgent group al-Shabaab smuggled an explosive-filled laptop on a flight out of Mogadishu. It detonated soon after take-off, making a hole in the side of the plane and killing only the bomber. Because the plane was so low, the pilot was able to land the plane safely. Detonation at a higher altitude could have been catastrophic.
3. Which airlines and airports will it affect?
The move will affect in-bound passengers from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia. Flights from these countries are operated by British Airways, Easyjet, Jet 2, Monarch, Thomas Cook and Thomson. It will also affect those flying with foreign carriers including Turkish Airlines, Pegasus Airways, Atlas-Global, Egyptair, Tunisair, Royal Jordanian, Saudi and Middle East airlines.
Dubai is not included in the ban, to the relief of those that use the the airport as a hub.
The US ban will affect nine airlines flying from a total of 10 specified airports.
4. Which passengers will be affected?
Those who have a stopover in one of the six countries on their way back to Britain will also be affected by the ban. Flight routes run by Emirates and Ethiad, for example, are very popular with holidaymakers who are travelling to south-east Asia and Australia.
5. Which devices will be banned?
All electronic devices bigger than a smart phone will be banned from cabin baggage and can only be carried if packed in checked-in hold baggage. Devices covered by the ban include laptops, iPads, hand-held gaming devices, DVD players and so on. Items covered by the ban are those longer than 16.0cm, wider than 9.3cm and deeper than 1.5cm.
6. What are the implications for passengers?
One of the main problems for passengers who are forced to check electronic equipment into their hold baggage is security from theft while they are in the baggage handling system. A laptop could easily be worth over £1,000; an iPad £500. Most travel insurance policies will not cover articles which cost so much - especially if they are checked into hold baggage. There is also, of course, the risk of damage from shock while a suitcase is being loaded and unloaded from the plane and baggage belts. Again, insurance will not usually cover such damage. The best advice - which won’t be helpful for business travellers, and many ordinary holidaymakers - is to leave such equipment at home.
7. How will the ban be administered?
The details are not yet clear, but it is certain to cause a new security headache. Cabin bags will have to be searched at the boarding gate, and there are bound to be problems with passengers who do not wish to comply, or check their equipment into the hold. The extra checks may mean earlier check-in times and slower boarding for the affected flights, which may, in turn, cause delays.
