British government bans laptops from cabins on flights to UK from six countries

All electronic devices, including cameras, will be banned in carry on luggage. Photo / 123RF

Britain is poised to follow the US and ban laptops and other electronic devices from UK-bound flights on planes from Middle Eastern countries, security sources have told The Telegraph.

The Department of Homeland Security in the US announced a ban yesterday after revealing that extremists are seeking "innovative methods" to bring down jets amid concerns that bombs will be hidden in laptops.

The measure by the US will affect flights by nine airlines from eight countries in the Middle East including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and Egypt.

Security sources told The Telegraph that UK security services have seen the same intelligence as their US counterparts and are expected to follow with a similar ban, possibly as soon as today. Discussions have been taking place in Whitehall over the past few weeks over how the ban will work and among Cabinet ministers.

Under the terms of the US ban large electronic devices will only be allowed onboard in checked baggage. Phones are exempt from the new rules.

Airports affected by the ban:

• Hamad International Airport, Doha, Qatar
• Dubai International Airport, UAE
• Abu Dhabi International Airport, UAE
• Ataturk International Airport, Istanbul, Turkey
• Queen Alia International Airport, Amman, Jordan
• Cairo International Airport, Egypt
• King Abdul Aziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
• King Khalid International Airport, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Mohammed V Airport, Casablanca, Morocco
• Kuwait International Airport, Kuwait

The US said that the decision was based on "evaluated intelligence", suggesting that the intelligence services have either intercepted a discussion about an extremist plot or been passed information by a source.

Aviation security experts were alarmed by an incident in Somalia last year when the insurgent group al-Shabaab smuggled an explosive-filled laptop on a flight out of Mogadishu, blowing a hole in the side of the plane. The aircraft was still low enough that the pilot was able to land the plane safely.

In a statement, the Department for Homeland Security said: "The US government is concerned about terrorists' ongoing interest in targeting commercial aviation, including transportation hubs over the past two years, as evidenced by the 2015 airliner downing in Egypt; the 2016 attempted airliner downing in Somalia; and the 2016 armed attacks against airports in Brussels and Istanbul.

"Evaluated intelligence indicates that terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation, to include smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items."

US officials told CNN that the ban is related to a threat posed by Al-Qaeda."Evaluated intelligence indicates that terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation and are aggressively pursuing innovative methods to undertake their attacks, to include smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items," an official said.

Airlines will be responsible for policing the cabin ban, and if they fail to do so could lose their rights to operate US routes. No end date has been put on the order, and officials would not say whether the restriction might spread to other airports.

Important notice to our passengers who are traveling to USA #EGYPTAIR pic.twitter.com/qAVC04B6sf

— EGYPTAIR (@EGYPTAIR) March 21, 2017

For the Attention of Our Passengers Traveling to the United States: https://t.co/mopDCy0wxV

— Turkish Airlines (@TurkishAirlines) March 21, 2017

The ban in the US hit Royal Jordanian, EgyptAir, Turkish Airlines, Saudi Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways.

The airlines and their host governments have already been informed of the order by US officials, and some of them have begun informing passengers about the restriction.

Turkish Airlines put out a statement confirming the ban. "At Turkish Airlines we kindly inform our passengers that any electronic or electrical devices larger than a cell phone or smart phone (except medical devices) must not be transported on board in our flights arriving to the US destinations," it said.

- Originally published in Telegraph UK