News
IATA calls for U.S./UK electronics ban redress
March 31st 2017
International Air Transport Association (IATA) director-general and CEO, Alexandre de Juniac, on Tuesday called on both the U.S. and UK governments to “urgently” seek alternatives to the recently-imposed electronics ban on a significant number of flights departing the Middle East and North Africa. Read More »
For reasons undisclosed, the U.S. and UK have forbidden passengers departing from ten airports - Abu Dhabi, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait City, Casablanca, Cairo, Amman, Istanbul, Riyadh and Jeddah - from carrying electronics larger than mobile phones when travelling to the U.S. Four countries included in the U.S. list – the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Morocco – are absent from the U.K. restrictions.
“The current measures are not an acceptable long-term solution to whatever threat they are trying to mitigate. Even in the short term it is difficult to understand their effectiveness. And the commercial distortions they create are severe. We call on governments to work with the industry to find a way to keep flying secure without separating passengers from their personal electronics,” said de Juniac in a speech to the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations.
“With the measures now in place, our passengers and member airlines are asking valid questions. Why don’t the U.S. and the UK have a common list of airports? How can laptops be secure in the cabin on some flights and not others, including flights departing from the same airport? And surely there must be a way to screen electronic equipment effectively? The current situation is not acceptable and will not maintain the all-important confidence of the industry or of travellers. We must find a better way. And Governments must act quickly,” urged the IATA boss.
Airlines across the Middle East and North Africa have been scrambling to put contingency plans into place. Emirates Airline allows passengers to use their electronic devices until they board their flights to the U.S.; at the gate these will be wrapped up and loaded in the belly – requiring both time and extra expenditure. Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines have similar services in place.
Etihad Airways irked passengers when it announced electronics had to be placed in the check-in luggage from the time of check-in - including passengers on transfer itineraries through Abu Dhabi - meaning travellers could be separated from their laptops for up to 24 hours.
The airline has since told Orient Aviation it is waiving charges for in-flight Wi-Fi and is handing out tablets to premium passengers, although this hardly solves the issue of corporates being unable to complete their work in-flight.
