In a press release issued from its headquarters in Montreal, Canada, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has confirmed that it is looking to the U.S. and U.K. to reconsider their recently announced restrictions on the carry-on electronic items permissible on certain flights departing the Middle East and Africa.
The demand was made in a speech by IATA’s Director General, Alexandre de Juniac, to the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations. On March 21, the U.S. announced it was banning electronic devices larger than a smartphone from carry-on luggage from flights that were bound for the U.S. from eight Islamic states, affecting laptops, tablets, gaming devices and portable DVD players among many items. The airports affected are in Cairo; Istanbul; Kuwait City; Doha, Qatar; Casablanca, Morocco; Amman, Jordan; Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates.
On March 22, the U.K announced a similar ban on electronic items for anyone flying from Turkey, the Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, meaning passengers would have to put electronic devices in their hold luggage.
De Juniac made it clear IATA felt that “The current measures are not an acceptable long-term solution to whatever threat they are trying to mitigate. Even in the short term it is difficult to understand their effectiveness. And the commercial distortions they create are severe. We call on governments to work with the industry to find a way to keep flying secure without separating passengers from their personal electronics.”
De Juniac also stated that “With the measures now in place, our passengers and member airlines are asking valid questions. Why don’t the US and the UK have a common list of airports? How can laptops be secure in the cabin on some flights and not others, including flights departing from the same airport? And surely there must be a way to screen electronic equipment effectively? The current situation is not acceptable and will not maintain the all-important confidence of the industry or of travelers. We must find a better way. And Governments must act quickly.”
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AviTrader Publications Corp.
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Richmond, BC V6X 3M1
Canada