Some Middle-East and North African airlines face a new dilemma enforced by U.S and UK governments in the form of an electronic ban on large electronic devices in the airline cabin for security reasons. Anything that is larger than a cell phone like laptop, e-reader or iPad etc, will not be allowed in the flight’s cabin.
The new restriction hits major airline carriers from mainly Muslim countries. According to U.S directive, nine major airlines will be affected by this new restriction including Royal Jordania, Egyptair, Turkish airlines, Saudi airlines, Kuwait airways, Royal Air Morocco, Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad.
The ban will have an impact on people flying from Jordon, Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and United Arab Emirates. On the other hand, U.K has restricted two more countries, which include Tunisia and Lebanon.
The airlines have been given 96 hours to comply with this limitation. The main three airlines have agreed to comply with the new regulations, but have refrained from making any comment about its impact.
This electronic ban will prove hectic for travelers, as they would certainly not want to lose control of their important devices for so long, and therefore may think of changing their carrier.
According to U.S Officials, the ban has been enforced because of threats from the militant groups of smuggling explosives in the electronic gadgets, therefore no matter how inconvenient it may seem at this time, security cannot be compromised.