US and UK laptop bans on some Middle East flights
come into effect
A ban on laptops and tablets in cabin baggage on
flights from Turkey and some countries in the Middle East and North Africa to
the US and UK has come into effect.
Officials say devices
"larger than a smartphone" must travel in the hold because of an
increased risk that they could contain explosives.
At least one airline is allowing
devices to be used up until boarding.
The US ban covers eight
countries, while the UK restrictions apply to six.
Nine airlines from eight
countries - Turkey, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar,
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait - are affected by the US ban. They operate about 50
flights a day to the US.
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UAE airline Emirates is offering
complimentary packing and shipping services at gates to enable passengers to
use their electronic devices after check-in and until boarding.
That also means passengers flying
on two-leg trips from other countries to the US through Dubai can use their
laptops on the first leg of their flights.
The UK ban meanwhile affects all flights
out of Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Lebanon.
The British ban applies to any
device, including smartphones, larger than 16cm (6.3in) long, 9.3cm (3.7in)
wide or 1.5cm (0.6in) deep. However, most phones will be smaller than the
limit.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan has urged the US and UK to lift the bans as soon as possible.
The US Department for Homeland
Security has cited attacks on planes and airports over the past two years as
the reason for the ban,
Bombs,
it said, had been hidden in such items as a soft drink can, used in the
downing of a Russian airliner over Egypt in October 2015 with the loss of 224 lives, and the
laptop used in the unsuccessful Somali attack last year.
European
security experts are to meet next week to discuss the US and UK bans, the Guardian newspaper reported.
Royal
Jordanian Airlines has tweeted suggestions of things to do during a
long flight instead of using an electronic device.
It followed up with
another tweet suggesting that passengers "do
what we Jordanians do best - stare at each other!"
Aviation experts say the ban
could hit airline profits as risks include a fall in passenger numbers,
decreasing customer satisfaction and higher costs linked to screening baggage.
HONG
KONG: Carrie
Lam, who won an election to become Hong Kong's first female
chief executive on Sunday, is a former student activist who climbed the
rungs of the civil service over 36 years, and a tough, capable and possibly
divisive Beijing-backed leader.Lam, 59, most recently Hong Kong's number
two official, has to unify the Chinese-ruled city as public resentment swells
at Beijing's growing interference in its affairs despite being promised a high degree
of autonomy.She also has to reinvigorate the economy and address growing
social inequalities and high property prices. Several sources who have
worked with Lam say she's intelligent, hard-working and able to push
controversial government policies, earning her the trust of Beijing factions
who strongly lobbied for votes on her behalf. But her hardline and
pro-Beijing tendencies, say critics and opposition democrats, risk sowing
further social divisions in the former British
colony that returned to China 20 years ago under a "once country,
two systems" formula that guarantees it wide-ranging freedoms. "Carrie
Lam .. is a nightmare for Hong Kong," said student activist Joshua Wong, 20, one of the leaders of the student-led "Umbrella
Movement" protests in 2014 which blocked the streets for 79 days demanding
full democracy.
