By Anthony Young-
Britain is to ban laptops and other electronic devices on UK flights from Middle East countries, in line with a similar ban imposed by the U.S.
The imminent announcement about the new regulations is not exactly the same as those from the U.S forbidding airlines from 8 Muslim countries carrying electronic devices such as laptops, tablets, and cameras larger than mobile phones into the plane cabin. The decision by the UK government is aimed at effectively counteracting terrorism and preventing many of the innovative techniques they are seeking to cause damage.
MEETINGS
The ban follows several weeks of meetings about airline security, including one on Tuesday morning. Discussions have also been taking place with US counterparts.
Airports directly affected by the ban include Queen Alia in Jordan, Cairo International in Egypt, Ataturk International in Turkey, Dubai international and Abu Dhabi international in the United Arab Emirates.
In a statement on Tuesday, the US Department of Homeland Security said: “The US government is concerned about terrorists’ ongoing interest in targeting commercial aviation, including transportation hubs over the past two years, as evidenced by the 2015 airliner downing in Egypt; the 2016 attempted airliner downing in Somalia; and the 2016 armed attacks against airports in Brussels and Istanbul.
“Evaluated intelligence indicates that terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation, to include smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items.”
What remains unclear is why the ban is not applied to all airports if terrorists are able to use laptops and electronic equipment to mount a terrorist attack. Western flights are hardly believed to be exempt from terrorist attacks, though we will not want the convenience of being able to take our laptops abroad taken away because of a handful of lurking terrorists in the world. However, should the British and American public not be equally protected from such terror?
The laptop ban will inconvenient businessmen and students who rely on their laptops for a lot of their professional and academic engagements. They will instead be forced to either rely on public computers, which can be very unreliable or depend on their relatives at their various destinations to help them with laptops when they arrive. There will be plenty of reactions to the ban, but provided a factual, logical and coherent explanation is provided, the ban will be just.