The Guardian and BBC are reporting that a ban on electronic devices, specifically laptops, being carried in the passenger compartment will be announced shortly.
Guardian
Britain is set to follow the US cabin-luggage ban on laptops and other electronic devices on UK flights from Middle East countries, with new regulations expected to be announced imminently.
Government sources told the Guardian the UK rules would not exactly mirror the ban issued by the US, which forbids airlines from eight countries from allowing passengers to carry electronic devices such as laptops, tablets and even cameras larger than mobile phones into the plane cabin. Passengers must check in any such devices in their hold luggage.
The ban and its full details were expected to be formally announced on Tuesday afternoon.
The BBC report suggest a reason behind the bans:
BBC home affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford said the UK move was "obviously part of coordinated action with the US".
The attempted downing of an airliner in Somalia was linked to a laptop device and it appears the security precautions are an attempt to stop similar incidents, our correspondent added.
The new ban is clearly based on the same intelligence being shared by the US. It remains to be seen if the other of the “five eyes” respond in the same way. Whether this intelligence information has any veracity (remember Saddam’s WMD) remains to be seen.
Tuesday, Mar 21, 2017 · 5:12:43 PM +00:00
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Lib Dem FoP
The UK airlines affected are:
- British Airways
- EasyJet
- Jet2.com
- Monarch
- Thomas Cook
- Thomson
The last two are charter companies operated by the tour companies of the same name although it is possible to buy seats. Monarch started as the carrier for the tour company Cosmos but diversified into budget seats when Cosmos went bust. The others apart from BA operate as primarily low cost carriers.
The UK ban applies to all flights from the following countries, not just from their capitals.
- Turkey
- Lebanon
- Jordan
- Saudi Arabia
- Egypt
- Tunisia
There have already been attacks directed at tourists in Egypt and Tunisia.
Tuesday, Mar 21, 2017 · 5:45:43 PM +00:00
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Lib Dem FoP
The placing of laptops in the hold is explained by reference to the explosion aboard the Daallo Airlines flight in Somalia.
The explosion did not cause catastrophic damage because it exploded too early (possibly because the passengers were moved from a Turkish Airlines flight). That meant the fairly small device only caused a small breach in the fuselage, ejecting the presumed bomber but allowing the plane to land safely. If it had been higher, the pressure in the cabin would have caused far more damage.
If a small explosion happened in an unpressurised cargo hold, the similar lack of pressure difference would mean even less damage. In addition liners for cargo hold pallets have been developed which would contain any explosion although it is not clear how widely they are used.