The other day it was reported that the US would be banning flights from certain countries from allowing larger electronic devices to be brought on board. Now it seems that over in the UK, the government is also instituting a similar ban on larger electronic devices that can be brought on board.However it should be noted that this will only affect flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia. While no specific reasons have been given, officials in the US said that this is because bombs could potentially be hidden in larger electronic devices. There is precedent for this type of concern as back in 2016, there was a report that an explosive device was built into a laptop that somehow managed to make it past security and detonated on a Somali passenger jet.
This ban will apply to devices that are larger than 16cm in length, 9.3cm in width, or 1.5cm in depth. For the most part the average smartphone should have no problems being brought on board, but anything that might be larger like a tablet or a laptop, you can pretty much forget about it. This would apply to all electronics even e-readers or gaming consoles, all of which will have to be checked in.
According to Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, “We understand the frustration that these measures may cause and we are working with the aviation industry to minimise any impact.”
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