US Bans Electonic Devices On Flight Cabin From Muslim Countries In Middle East. This Is How It Will Effect Indian Travelers
Donald Trump’s administration has banned airline passengers from eight Middle Eastern and North African countries from carrying large electronic devices. No American carriers are impacted by the ban, which involves any device larger than a mobile phone.
The Trump administration’s restrictions on carry-on electronic devices on planes coming to the United States are expected to impact hundreds of Indians who regularly transit through airports in the Middle East where the new rules are applicable.
The ban would stop passengers bringing laptops, iPads, and cameras in carry-on luggage and is thought to affect at least 12 airlines. The passengers who fly from India to the US transit through airports in the Middle East like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and from Saturday will need to check in all electronic devices sized larger than a smartphone like laptops, tablets, e-readers, cameras, electronic games, DVD players, etc.
US department of homeland security banned “all personal electronic devices larger than a cell phone or smartphone” from the carry-on bags (bags carried on board by the flyer) of passengers who board direct flights to the US from the airports in Amman (Jordan), Cairo (Egypt), Istanbul (Turkey), Jeddah and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Kuwait, Doha (Qatar), Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
As for the passengers who transit from any of these airports, they will have to pack their electronic goods into their check-in bag at their airport of origin. So a passenger booked on a Mumbai-Dubai-Dallas flight will have to check in the laptop at Mumbai itself.
Note: The new security measures don’t apply to passengers booked on Air India
The policy is expected to be announced on Tuesday where the full details of the ban will be disclosed. The reason for the ban was not immediately clear. David Lapan, a spokesman for Homeland Security Department, declined to comment. The Transportation Security Administration, part of Homeland Security, also declined to comment. Royal Jordanian Airlines did, however, point out that medical devices were excluded from the ban.
“Following instructions from the concerned US departments, we kindly inform our dearest passengers departing to and arriving from the United States that carrying any electronic or electrical device on board the flight cabins is strictly prohibited,” the airline tweeted.
“Prohibited devices, including for instance laptops, tablets, cameras, DVD players and electronic games … etc can be carried in the checked baggage only.”
How Will It Effect Indians?
An official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the country’s aviation regulator said: “But what we have learned is that airlines are responsible for imposing the ban. Passengers traveling directly to the US from India are not affected.”
“But if they are traveling via the Gulf or any of the eight countries where the ban is imposed, then the passengers have to keep the electronic devices other than mobile phones in the checked baggage. We are not issuing any advisory as of now,” the official added.
The ban applies to any device larger than 16cm long, 9.3cm wide or 1.5cm deep. It includes smartphones, but most fall inside these limits.
President Of Travel Agents Opinion:
Anil Punjabi, president of Travel Agents’ Federation of India, said: “The restriction, first by the US and then by the UK, has scared travelers. They feel that if intelligence agencies believe that terror outfits may explode a bomb on a plane that originates from the Gulf, they should avoid it altogether. Even elderly people traveling to their children living abroad want to avoid the flights. Though most of them don’t carry the restricted items, there is fear of delay at airports in the Gulf.”
According to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), in the fiscal year 2016, of the 2.69 million passengers who flew from India to the US, 1.3 million flew on airlines like Emirates, Etihad, Qatar that transit through airports like Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.
Britain In US Footsteps:
The US department of homeland security has not ruled out expanding the restrictions to other airports. BRITAIN has also confirmed that it will follow the US in banning passengers from taking laptop computers and tablets on board flights from the Middle East amid fears of a new terror threat.
Which Airports Are Affected By The US Ban?
- 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
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