Passengers on #US-bound international airlines that are departing 10 airports in eight majority-Muslim countries have been prohibited from taking electronic devices onto the plane.
The new #flight restriction that was set in place on Tuesday by Donald Trump's administration and effectively bans people from taking anything larger than a cell phone onto the plane. Laptops, sound systems, and other electronic equipment needs to be put in the baggage hold and collected at the other end.
Preventing terrorist threats
American officials claimed that the new law was not placed in reaction to a threat from terrorists or any other hazard.
It does however illuminate the unanimity among US intelligence officials and experts that terrorist groups, such as #ISIS and the Al Qaeda offshoot in Yemen, are attempting to unlock strategies of smuggling devices onto planes through laptops and other electronic devices.
Hour later, the world was surprised to learn that the #British government announced its own ban on electronic devices on flights.
The #US Department of Homeland Security sought to define restricted items as laptop computers, cameras, travel printers, tablets, cameras and games bigger than a cell phone. The restrictions won't affect aircraft crews, officials told reporters on Monday night, as they that outlined the specifics of the ban.
The policy swiftly went into effect at 3 am Tuesday, and must be adhered to within 96 hours by those airlines flying to America from airports in Casablanca, Morocco; Doha, Qatar; Istanbul; Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia; Amman, Jordan; Cairo; Kuwait City; and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in #United Arab Emirates.
The #ban on electronics applies only to foreign carrier flights, and not to American-owned airlines, which don't provide direct flights from those 10 airports.
Who will be affected?
Around 50 flights daily into the United States will be affected by the ban, with the world's top airport for passenger traffic, #Abu Dhabi, already needing American-bound passengers to go through strict border control screening by US officials before getting into the plane.
The #British ban on onboard electronic equipment impacts both foreign and airlines, including British Airways, the nation's largest airline.
Foreign airlines adhering to the new order will be EgyptAir, Turkish Airlines and Royal Jordanian amongst others, with direct flights to the UK from Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia being screened and affected.
The last few years has seen numerous #attacks on transportation hubs by extremist groups and this ban has been seen as a response to those incidents. There was the May 2015 bombing of an Egyptian airliner in Egypt, and the attempted taking down of an airline in Somalia last year as well as militarized attacks against airports in Brussels and Istanbul, also in 2016.
Passengers protested at having to fly for many hours without the use of tablets or laptops, something that will affect business travellers the most.
Critics claimed that President Trump was trying to satisfy #right wing extremists in America and that the order will directly affect those working on global capacities as lawyers, journalists, researchers and writers.
