U.S., U.K. Cite Terror Threat in Laptop, Tablet Banned on Flights

U.S. says move affecting flights from Mideast and Africa is based on ‘evaluated intelligence’

The U.S. and Britain banned passengers from carrying most electronics larger than a cellphone into the cabin on flights from a handful of countries in the Middle East and North Africa, responding to what American officials described as the threat of terrorism to global aviation.

The Department of Homeland Security early Tuesday targeted 10 airports from which direct, U.S.-bound flights would be subject to the ban. The department said it was a response to “evaluated intelligence,” but didn’t provide details.

The U.K. a few hours later said it would enforce similar restrictions, though for a slightly different group of countries, affecting many more passengers because of London’s role as an international hub.

The new U.S. policy wasn’t based on a specific or near-term threat, but on more general intelligence about an enduring desire by terrorists to hit airlines coming from that region, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter.

A senior U.S. official said that the policy was discussed last fall during the Obama administration, and that it was considered generally in response to al Qaeda’s Yemeni offshoot, a group seen by officials as the most adept among terror groups at bomb making.

Its bomb designs have included explosives hidden inside printer cartridges and batteries for electronics. Concerns about such bombs have spurred previous security alerts.

The rules create new logistical challenges for travelers and airlines. Devices including laptops, tablets and cameras must be checked in. The restrictions are based on the size of a device, a U.S. official said, as a bigger device could provide more space to hide explosives from detection.

The new U.S. restrictions apply to nine airlines flying to the U.S. from Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

U.S. officials said the measures were designed to target specific airports, not specific airlines. But if airlines don’t adhere to the new rules, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration could be asked to block them from flying to the U.S.

The U.S. order affects the big three Persian Gulf carriers, Emirates Airline, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways. The ban also applies to flights operated by Turkish Airlines, Royal Jordanian, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Royal Air Maroc and Kuwait Airways.

The rules will affect about 50 daily U.S. flights. U.S. officials said they won’t be reviewing data on devices in stored luggage and the rule doesn’t apply to pilots or crew members. Airlines were given 96 hours to fully comply with Tuesday’s order.

No U.S. airlines are affected because they don’t directly serve the airports subject to the restrictions. But they do code-share on some of these routes with these foreign airline partners. Those flights would be subject to the new rules.

The surprise rule changes triggered uncertainty across the global aviation industry. In a statement, the International Air Transport Association said that a number of its member airlines had been contacted by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration with regards to the restrictions on electronic items. The global trade group said it is working with its members and the TSA “to achieve greater clarity on required actions.”

Taking the Laptop?

Countries, carriers and items affected by the new U.S. restrictions on electronic gadgets in the cabin:

Airports offering direct U.S. flights from the following countries

Those airports are served by direct flights to the U.S. by these airlines

Banned items are electronic gadgets bigger than a typical smart phone, including

Source: Department of Homeland Security

The new flying rules come at a time of heightened concern about terrorist threats to air travel. Attackers have repeatedly sought to hide explosive devices in electronic equipment and other items to smuggle them past security checks to bring down planes. Al Qaeda has regularly published bomb-making advice online.

Governments wouldn’t explain what threats they were trying to counteract with the restrictions. Security experts suggested the U.S. and U.K. may be trying to respond to the threat from manually triggered devices.

The ban also comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban, which aims to restrict many U.S.-bound travelers from a handful of Muslim-majority countries that Washington has deemed a particular terrorism risk. That ban targets different countries than the ones affected by the electronics rules.

The U.S. travel ban—currently facing legal challenges and not yet implemented in its latest form—has drawn criticism that it unfairly targets Muslims. The latest move compounded some of the unease in the Middle East.

“Not what you expect from a friendly country,” Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a prominent Emirati political commentator, said on Twitter of the U.S. electronics ban.

Turkey’s transportation minister told the private Dogan news agency that Istanbul was in talks with U.S. authorities to “stop or soften” the U.S. restriction on electronics for flights bound from Istanbul to the U.S., according to the Associated Press.

In the U.S., critics said the government hadn’t provided enough information to justify the new rules. “Given the administration’s already poor track record, this policy sends a signal of discriminatory targeting and must be heavily scrutinized,” said Hina Shamsi, director of the National Security Project of the American Civil Liberties Union.

But the action drew some bipartisan support in Washington. California Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said he had been briefed on the ban by DHS officials over the weekend and supported the security precautions, without detailing any potential threat. “The new ban is both necessary and proportional to the threat,” he said.

The U.K.’s separate restriction on in-cabin devices will affect direct flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. There are currently direct flights from Lebanon and Tunisia to the U.K., but not to the U.S.

The U.K., which makes its own security assessments, didn’t include the U.A.E., Qatar, Morocco and Kuwait in its new policy, but didn’t explain why.

The British policy snags a major Western carrier, British Airways, which will be obliged to conform. In a statement, British Airways referred passengers to the government’s policy and advised passengers to arrive early for affected flights.

Qatar Airways, the state-owned national carrier, owns a big stake in British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines Group SA. Qatar’s sovereign-wealth fund also own 20% of Heathrow airport, Britain’s international hub.

“We have been in close touch with the Americans to fully understand their position,” a U.K. government spokesman said, adding “we will work closely with our international partners to minimize any disruption these new measures may cause.” British officials didn’t detail any specific threat.

It is unclear if other Western governments are planning policy changes. Canada has yet to decide whether it will follow in the U.S. and U.K. footsteps, the country’s transport minister, Marc Garneau said.

German authorities aren’t planning new rules, according to a spokesman for the interior ministry in Berlin.

A senior official at the EU, which isn’t responsible for national aviation security measures but has wider airline security responsibilities for the region, said he is aware of no new intelligence pointing to a clear new threat. He said he hopes the measures announced don’t represent “a new normal” in the U.S. approach to transport security.

“It seems way out of proportion as the same devices in the luggage compartment would be equally dangerous, if not more,” he said. “One might even think it is a U.S. measure to augment the travel ban. Canada might go along but for example Australia does not see any need to change their policy.”

The ban is a blow to travelers accustomed to bringing tablets, e-readers and laptops to catch up on work or watch movies while flying. Many travelers are loath to check in expensive devices or ones holding sensitive information, in the event of misdirected baggage.

“It’s a major irritant, it will cause major concerns to business travelers and other people who want to use their laptops,” said Andrew Charlton, managing director of Switzerland-based consultancy Aviation Advocacy.

— Aruna Viswanatha, Nicolas Parasie and Jenny Gross contributed to this article.

By SUSAN CAREY, ROBERT WALL, SHANE HARRIS and MARGHERITA STANCATI