US Bans Electronic Devices on Flights From Eight Muslim-Majority Countries
The Department of Homeland Security is banning all electronic devices larger than a smartphone on flights from eight Muslim-majority countries. This means you need to keep all laptops and tablets in check-in bags.
In particular, the new rules apply to ten airports in the following cities:
- Cairo, egypt
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Casablanca, Morocco
- Doha, Qatar
- Amman, Jordan
- Jeddah and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Kuwait
- Dubai and Abu Dhabi, UAE
And the ban on the use of devices applies only to flights of foreign airlines. In a briefing with reporters Monday night, Department of Homeland Security officials did not provide any specific intelligence to suggest why a ban on electronics should happen now. Thus, the new security rules appear to be in line with much of the hastily introduced measures by the Trump administration.
So what can you do if you are on a different flight from one of these airports? Nothing special. All of your gadgets must be stored in your check-in bags, which means you apparently can’t even carry your Kindle with you (if they think it’s “more than a cell phone”, which is a vague rule of thumb). Thus, you must download as many books and movies to your phone as it can hold. Bring the book. Take a nap. The flight from Dubai to New York takes about 14 hours, so the sleep will be long.
[ New York Times ]