Passengers flying to the U.S. from or through ten airports in the Middle East and North Africa will no longer be allowed to bring laptops, Kindles, iPads, and other electronic devices bigger than a smartphone into flight cabins, according to a fact sheet released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday. All electronics larger than a cell phone will have to be put in checked-in luggage starting on March 25. (While the new regulations were announced today, DHS is giving airlines 96 hours to put them into effect.)
The ban affects airports in eight Muslim-majority countries: Amman, Jordan; Cairo, Egypt; Istanbul, Turkey; Jeddah and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Dubai and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Kuwait City; Casablanca, Morocco; and Doha, Qatar. Nine airlines operate direct flights to U.S. cities out of these airports, including Emirates, which flies non-stop to 11 different airports in the U.S. from their home base in Dubai, and Turkish Airlines, which flies to nine U.S. destinations. Flights originating in the United States will not be affected, nor will U.S. airlines, as none of them operate routes from the targeted airports.
While details as to the reasoning behind the ban have not been released, the DHS statement does allude to it being an anti-terrorism measure called for by Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly and Transportation Security Administrator Acting Administrator Huban Gowadia. "Evaluated intelligence indicates that terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation and are aggressively pursuing innovative methods to undertake their attacks, to include smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items," reads the statement.
The DHS specifies that, besides laptops, tablets, e-readers like the Kindle, cameras, portable DVD players, electronic gaming consoles, and travel printers/scanners all also potentially fall under the ban, depending on their size. Necessary medical devices will be allowed into the cabin after they have been screened by security.
While the DHS did not specify an end date for the new regulations, an Emirates spokesperson told Condé Nast Traveler that the ban will be in effect until October 14, 2017, after which it is presumably eligible for renewal. The airline also clarified that the ban will apply to all passengers passing through Dubai International Airport with onward journeys to the United States, even if it is in transit from elsewhere. In Emirates's case, Dubai serves as a major transit point for flights to the U.S. from airports across Africa and Asia. Passengers would presumably have to check in their electronic devices at airports outside of the Middle East and North Africa if they are making connections in busy hubs like Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi.
In its statement, the DHS played down the scope of the ban, saying, "These enhanced security measures will only affect flights from ten of the more than 250 airports that serve as last points of departure to the United States. A small percentage of flights to the United States will be affected, and the exact number of flights will vary on a day to day basis."
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Telegraph is reporting that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has announced that passengers flying to the U.K. from Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey will also have to check in any electronics larger than a smartphone, in a policy evidently coordinated with the U.S. In this case, however, the ban will also apply to flights operated by U.K.-based carriers British Airways, Easyjet, Jet 2, Monarch, Thomas Cook, and Thomson Airways, which operate inbound routes from some of the affected airports. This isn't the first time electronic devices have been banned on select routes. In 2006, following intelligence reports about a terrorist plot to blow up airlines flying over the Atlantic, passengers on flights between the U.K. and the U.S. were only permitted to carry on essential items, such as passports and wallets, in clear plastic bags. All electronics had to be checked in.
This is also not the U.S.’s only new security measure in recent weeks. The TSA introduced a new pat-down procedure earlier this month, and President Donald Trump issued a controversial travel ban in January (that has since been revised) prohibiting citizens of select predominantly Muslim nations from entering the U.S. The new version of the executive order was suspended by federal courts in Hawaii and Maryland earlier this month. The Trump administration will likely appeal the ruling.
With reporting by David Jefferys. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.