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The U.S. and the UK pass ban on electronic items in cabin on flights originating from the Middle East

  • By Expat
  • March 28, 2017

The U.S. has passed a ban to prevent electronics larger than a mobile phone bin the cabin on flights originating from the following cities: Cairo, Istanbul, Kuwait, Doha, Casablanca, Amman, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi. This only applies to direct flights, meaning if the one leg of the flight does not originate from one of the aforementioned cities, the electronics can be used in-flight for the unaffected departure city. It is reported that there are about 50 direct flights from these countries to the U.S. per day.
The UK has followed suit, passing a ban on most electronics to all electronic devices larger than 16cm (6.3in) long, 9.3cm (3.7in) wide and 1.5cm (0.6in) deep in the in-flight cabin on direct flights from the following countries: Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made a statement to distance the electronics ban from the contested and controversial travel ban by President Trump on several Muslim-majority nations from President Trump.
The TSA announcement applies to laptops, tablets, e-readers, cameras, portable DVD players, and handheld gaming devices larger than a regular-sized smartphone.
Canada, Australia and other countries are reviewing the ban and may choose to implement similar bans in the foreseeable future.
READER NOTICE
All information is current and accurate at the time of publishing. However, the above information and status is highly susceptible to change without warning, and thus this cannot substitute for any legal advice. Expat International cannot be held responsible for any actions stemming from the information provided above.