WASHINGTON: A US ban on electronic devices for passengers flying from 10 airports in the Middle East and North Africa will have a direct impact on Pakistani travellers as almost all Pakistani nationals use one of those airports for flying to the United States.

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Tuesday that it is banning the use of electronic devices during flights for passengers flying from 10 airports in eight countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Passengers can no longer use laptops, tablets, portable DVD players and other similar devices. But they can bring their mobile phones with them.

The department advised the airlines operating from these cities to begin complying with the new order from Friday. The order affects nine major Middle Eastern airlines including Emirates, Etihad and Turkish airlines that operate daily flights between Pakistani cities and destinations in the US. The Saudia, Royal Jordanian and Egypt Air are also on the list.

Order to affect thousands of Pakistanis

The DHS officials said the ban followed reports that terrorist groups planned to smuggle explosives in everyday electronic devices and would target commercial airlines. A DHS advisory urged passengers to store such devices in a checked bag if they were to fly non-stop out of the affected countries. Those who defied the order could have their devices confiscated.

The airports mentioned in the order are in Amman, Jordan; Cairo; Kuwait City, Kuwait; Doha, Qatar; Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the UAE; Istanbul, Turkey; Casablanca, Morocco; and Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. All are in Muslim-majority countries that are also strong US allies.

Because there are hardly any direct flights between Pakistan and the United States, Pakistani passengers mostly use airports in the UAE, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

A large number of Indian travellers also use these airports and the ban will directly affect passengers from these two countries. 

Officials in Washington told various US media outlets that the ban was not linked to President Donald Trump’s revised executive order that banned citizens of six other Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States for 90 days.

“We are not targeting specific nations. We relied upon evaluated intelligence to determine which airports were affected,” a DHS spokesman told reporters.

The DHS said the ban would “remain in place until the threat (that caused the ban) changes”.

Airline workers are exempt from the restriction, which does not apply to medical devices.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2017