Two airlines based in the Gulf region have found a way to help some of its U.S.-bound passengers who may need a laptop or tablet while traveling to the United States. Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways are loaning laptops and tablets to mitigate the ban on these devices for flights coming from 10 airports in the Gulf.
Only for business class
However, both carriers limit the offer only to Business Class passengers. Beginning next week, Qatar Airways would give out the Electronic Devices at the gate while the travelers’ gadgets would be collected and stowed with their checked-in luggage, Fortune reported.
On Tuesday, Etihad Airways sent an email to its frequent flyer club members that it would offer tablets with unlimited Wi-Fi to business or first class passengers. Emirates is considering making a similar offer to its business class customers, Tim Clark, president of Emirates, said on Monday.
The U.S.-imposed ban covers laptops and other electronic devices bigger than a mobile phone. These devices, which could be used by terrorist groups to smuggle explosive devices into airplane cabins, would no longer be allowed to be carried as hand luggage by airlines that would depart from the 10 Gulf airports.
U.K. ban covers 6 countries from the Middle East and North Africa
On March 22, U.K. also imposed a similar prohibition on laptops in cabins.
The ban affects travelers from six countries in the Middle East and North Africa. But the ban is only for direct flights coming from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.
The spokesman of the office of British Prime Minister Theresa May said the ban is necessary to protect the safety of passengers which is a priority for U.K.
The ban was not arbitrarily imposed since a laptop full of explosives was smuggled on a flight from Mogadishu in 2016. The laptop explosion blew a hole in the jet’s side. Since then, 13 potential attacks on planes have been prevented by U.K. security services.
Airport screening practices
The U.S. placed the ban after intelligence officials received new information on the effectiveness of some airport screening practices.
There are new methods of hiding explosives in electronic gadgets that have the potential to bypass airport security protocol, according to FBI tests.
They also received reliable reports that potential terrorists could have gained access to complex security equipment to test their augmented weapons. The FBI conducted tests on some models of screening machines commonly used in international gateways by the Transportation Security Administration.
The 10 airports are located in eight countries where reputable intelligence reports indicate greater threats. The eight countries on the U.S. list are Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Turkey, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
