U.S. & U.K. Issue Bans on Onboard Electronic Devices for Flights from Middle East & North Africa

Updated, Thursday, July 27, 2017, 4:45 p.m. ET — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has lifted the ban of onboard large electronic devices for all 10 airports listed in the initial ban, according to spokesman David Lapan. The latest airports to be relieved are those in Cairo, Egypt; Casablanca, Morocco; and Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In addition, all 180 airlines and 280 airports with a last point of departure into the U.S. have implemented the first phase of enhanced security measures announced last month, he tweeted.

Both the U.S. and U.K. governments are banning passengers from bringing laptops, tablets and other electronic devices onboard flights from certain countries in the Middle East and Africa.

The U.S. ban affects 10 airports: the home airports of all three Gulf carriers—Hamad International Airport in Doha, Dubai International Airport and Abu Dhabi International Airport—as well as Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, Kuwait International Airport, Cairo International Airport, Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, King Khalid Airport in Riyadh and Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca. Under the new rule, passengers must place any electronic device larger than a smartphone into checked baggage, with an exception only for approved medical devices, which also will require additional screening. The restrictions do not affect flights returning from the U.S. to those airports.

The U.K., meanwhile, has issued a similar ban on electronics—specifying dimensions of 16 centimeters by 9.3 centimeters by 1.5 centimeters—aboard flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Tunisia, according to a statement from Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling. Published reports indicate that Canada could be considering a similar policy.

In a blog post, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the stringent measures are based on intelligence related to "terrorists' ongoing interest in targeting commercial aviation," citing airport attacks in Brussels and Istanbul and the downing of Russia's Metrojet Flight 9268 over Egypt in 2015 and the attempted downing of a Daallo Airlines flight over Somalia last year. "Evaluated intelligence indicates that terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation, to include smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items," according to the DHS.

The DHS did not give a time frame for the length of the ban, saying it "will remain in place until the threat changes" and that more airports could be added. Both Emirates and Etihad said they will begin enforcing the ban on Friday, and Emirates said it will be in effect until Oct 14. Qatar Airways already is enforcing it and "has made special arrangements to assist passengers in securing their devices in the aircraft's baggage hold," according to the carrier. Turkish Airways is enforcing the ban, according to a message to passengers.

Royal Jordanian, which in a tweet on Monday indicated the ban would affect both flights to and from the U.S., has since deleted that tweet and said further updates would be announced soon.

In terms of the U.K. ban, British Airways already is advising passengers traveling from the six listed countries to check electronic devices. The carrier also noted that passengers traveling from those countries likely will be called to the boarding gate earlier than usual.

Industry Reaction

The restriction is eliciting concern from the travel community, as it will be a considerable hindrance for corporate travelers traveling from and connecting through those airports. Global Business Travel Association executive director and COO Michael McCormick in a statement said that, while the U.S. Transportation Security Administration should "take all necessary steps" to ensure aviation safety, GBTA also is waiting to hear whether it addresses a specific security threat and is talking to members to assess the business travel impact. "Nearly half of business travelers prefer to stay connected and get work done while flying," he said. "Not allowing them to bring their devices on the plane cuts productivity, taking time away that they can be getting business done. Many business travelers also prefer to keep their devices close for security purposes because they may contain sensitive company information."

Association of Corporate Travel Executives executive director Greeley Koch offered more pointed criticism of the restrictions, saying they made "no sense," and expressed concern that they could become wider reaching. "How long will it be before this ban is extended to flights from Paris and Brussels into the U.K. and U.S.?" Koch wondered. "No one is going to willingly check their computers or tablets, which often host the most detailed and proprietary corporate information, into the cargo hold of an airliner. Baggage goes missing every day. Can you imagine the consequences of losing a week's or a month's work, plus your confidential corporate data to a luggage theft?"

For corporations dealing with travel through those airports, iJet International airline safety analyst Max Leitschuh suggested travel buyers check with airlines to determine what sort of insurance policies they have on lost luggage. Those who do not wish to check their electronics could consider rerouting through a country that does not have the ban.

The U.S. Travel Association chided the U.S. government for the communication around the policy, with some even within the TSA not having been briefed on the policy as news about emerged on Monday, according to The New York Times. "Even with security as a justification, it does not absolve authorities of the responsibility to communicate," according to USTA VP for public affairs Jonathan Grella.

Effectiveness in Question

On a broader scale, the bans are drawing questions based on their effectiveness. Turkish Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan already has called for "reverse steps," saying it offers no benefits to passengers, according to the BBC.

Nicholas Weaver, a UC Berkeley International Computer Science Institute researcher, told BTN a laptop bomb would be just as dangerous in the cargo hold as it would onboard. If the concern is onboard hacking, that could be accomplished with a mobile phone as easily as with a computer, Weaver said. The DHS said it is not banning mobile phones "to balance risk with impacts to the traveling public."

Weaver also questioned the effectiveness of limiting the ban to certain airports, saying it made no sense unless it also included all other airports that connect to those airports. "The problem with an administration that has so burnt its credibility in hundreds of ways, including crying 'national security' to justify the blatantly bigoted intent behind the first travel ban, is that even if there is some reason, there is doubt," Weaver said.

Leitschuh said the fact that the U.K. and U.S. have implemented similar measures makes it less likely that the motivations were more political than security oriented, but he added that there were still inconsistencies, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait appearing in the U.S. ban but not the U.K. ban. Additionally, none of the attacks cited by the DHS would have been prevented by these measures, he said.

In fact, the ban even increases one danger to passengers. "The ban will increase the number of lithium-ion batteries being transported in cargo holds," Leitschuh said. "A lithium-ion battery fire in the cargo hold is much harder to contain and extinguish than in the passenger cabin."