In March 2017, the UK announced a cabin luggage ban on laptops and tablets on passenger flights from certain airports, following a similar move in the States.
But which airports does this apply to, and what are the exact rules for travelling with electronic devices?
What are the air travel rules on electronics?
The new UK flight rules ban large electronic devices from cabin baggage on passenger flights to the UK from six countries.
This includes large phones, all laptops and all tablets and e-readers taken onto planes.
The government said that passengers will be restricted from taking the banned items onto flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Tunisia.
Most smartphones are allowed in the cabin, along with any medical devices required by customers.
Passengers will be able to take on board a number of popular devices, including the, iPhone 7 Plus, Samsung Galaxy 7 Edge, Samsung Galaxy Note 3, LG G3 and Sony Xperia Z2.
The UK measures mean that phones that are larger than the following dimensions are not permitted:
- length – 16.0cm
- width – 9.3cm
- depth – 1.5cm
If you have purchased an electronic device larger than the above dimensions from duty free, you will not be allowed to take them in the cabin.
These items will be placed in the hold, regardless if they were bought from the airport or from home.
What items are now banned under the new air travel rules?
Passengers are barred from taking in the cabin devices that are “larger than a normal sized mobile or smart phone”.
You can still take these devices on holiday with you, but they have to go in the hold area in your checked luggage.
The government website states that cameras are not covered by the new restrictions.
These items are examples of banned items but it has been made clear this is not an exhaustive list:
- Laptops
- Tablets/Kindles
- E-readers
- Portable DVD players
- Electronic game units larger than a smartphone
- Travel printers/scanners
Which airlines are affected by the air travel rules?
In the UK, 14 carriers including Easyjet, British Airways, Jet 2, Monarch, Thomas Cook and Thomson flights will be affected.
Airlines which fail to comply with the new rules will be barred from flying to the UK.
The intital ban is now in full force, according to travel fare website Sky Scanner.
Easyjet
Passengers on Easyjet flights from Turkey and Egypt to the UK must put large electronic devices, including e-readers, in the hold.
The airline said passengers would face extra security checks and advised them to arrive early at their airport.
British Airways
A notice on the BA website warns that passengers will face additional searches and questions, and are likely to be called to their boarding gates earlier.
Jet 2
Since late March customers travelling from Turkey have begun to face extra security checks and the new hand luggage restrictions.
Monarch
It says it will increase the paid-for hold luggage allowance by 3kg free-of-charge to allow for the extra weight of electrical devices.
The airline runs a summer service from Turkey from 29 April, so no flights were affected until then.
Thomas Cook
Customers flying to the UK from Turkey and Egypt should pack devices into their hold luggage to be checked in before going through security.
Thomson
The airline said it was “currently working through operational plans and the best way” to notify affected customers.
Which airports were affected by the new UK air travel rules?
For UK-bound travellers, it affects six countries:
- Turkey
- Lebanon
- Jordan
- Egypt
- Tunisia
- Saudi Arabia
The rules apply to the “last point of departure airports”.
So if you change onto a plane at one of the affected airports for the last leg of your journey, you could be affected by the new rules.
Speak to your airline to find out how the rules will affect your journey.
Which airports were affected by the US air travel rules?
When the US flight ban was first brought in, the new rules had affected 10 airports in eight countries, if planes were flying to the US:
- Queen Alia International, Amman, Jordan
- Cairo International Airport, Egypt
- Ataturk Airport, Istanbul, Turkey
- King Abdulaziz International, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- King Khalid International, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Kuwait International Airport
- Mohammed V International, Casablanca, Morocco
- Hamad International, Doha, Qatar
- Dubai International, United Arab Emirates
- Abu Dhabi International, United Arab Emirates
But the ban on laptops in cabins of direct flights from Saudi Arabia to the United States has now been lifted according to Saudi Arabian Airlines.
It says two hub airports which serve the US have received clearance from the US Department of Homeland Security.
Riyadh’s King Khalid airport was the last of 10 airports to be exempted from the ban.
All flights into America are now being subjected to tougher screening procedures and the laptop ban was lifted int he above countries after compliance with the harsh new requirements.
US Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly set out new rules for all 105 countries that fly directly to the USA.
The security changes, which are being phased in over time, are wide ranging.
They include stricter screening of electronic devices, more thorough passenger vetting, more sophisticated screening approaches, more explosive detection dogs and advanced checkpoint screening technology.
Any of the 180 airlines who fly directly to the US that are slow to comply could then be hit with their own laptop ban on both hand luggage and hold luggage.
They could even lose authorisation to fly into the US.
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