US and UK Cabin Bans for Large Electronic Devices

The United States and the United Kingdom have banned large electronic devices from cabins on flights from certain Middle Eastern and North African countries.

Yesterday, the British government announced a cabin ban on laptops, tablets, and DVD players for direct passenger flights into the UK from six countries:

• Jordan
• Egypt
• Turkey
• Lebanon
• Tunisia
• Saudi Arabia

Earlier, U.S. officials announced a ban on carrying electronic devices such as laptops and iPads in carry-on luggage on direct U.S.-bound flights from the following 10 airports:

• Amman, Jordan (OJAI/AMM)
• Kuwait City, Kuwait (OKBK/KWI)
• Cairo, Egypt (HECA/CAI)
• Istanbul, Turkey (LTBA/IST)
• Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (OEJN/JED)
• Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (OERK/RUH)
• Casablanca, Morocco (GMMN/CMN)
• Doha, Qatar (OTHH/DOH)
• Dubai, UAE (OMDB/DXB)
• Abu Dhabi, UAE (OMAA/AUH)

U.S. authorities stated that they imposed the ban due to intelligence regarding threats of terrorist attacks on aircraft.