US, UK place ban on carrying large electronic devices on flights from certain Muslim-majority countries

The Unites States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) placed a ban on large electronic devices to be carried on planes coming from certain airports in Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and North Africa. This restriction was placed in response to unspecified security threats.

According to the details provided by US Department of Homeland Security, passengers travelling from airports of countries included in the list will not be allowed to bring devices such as tablets, portable DVD players, laptops and cameras into the main cabin. In essence, all the devices which are larger than a mobile phone cannot be carried on-board and instead will have to be in checked baggage.

In the same way, UK also took a similar stance on this security situation and imposed the same restriction. According to a spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May, there would be curbs on electronic items in the main cabin on flights from six countries in the Middle East.

It is being reported that militant groups are planning to smuggle explosive devices inside the electronic gadgets, so that they can blow it up inside the plane.

“The US government is concerned about terrorists’ ongoing interest in targeting commercial aviation, including transportation hubs over the past two years,” a US counter-terrorism official said in a statement.

“Our information indicates that terrorist groups’ efforts to execute an attack against the aviation sector are intensifying.”

The airports covered by the US restrictions are in Cairo; Istanbul; Kuwait City; Doha, Qatar; Casablanca, Morocco; Amman, Jordan; Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates.

The official also said that the action has been taken based on intelligence reports and that it has nothing to do with President Trump’s travel ban.

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Posted by fatimaarshad on Mar 22 2017. Filed under Latest News, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.