Turkey’s foreign ministry said talks were underway to try to persuade the United States and Britain to exclude Turkish Airlines and Istanbul airport from the ban.
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Overseas airlines affected are Turkish Airlines, Pegasus Airways, Atlas-Global Airlines, Middle East Airlines, EgyptAir, Royal Jordanian, Tunis Air and Saudia.
A spokesman for Royal Jordanian says the airliner has not yet started to enforce the new USA regulation. The US banned passengers traveling from several Muslim-majority nations from carrying portable electronics on board.
Not only customers, but the airlines are also affected by this. They also had one more slightly controversial idea.
Unfortunately for targeted Gulf airlines, there’s little they can do legally to stop the ban.
European security experts are to meet next week to discuss the United States and the United Kingdom bans, The Guardian newspaper reported. Airlines like Etihad have always been known for their celebrity gets like Nicole Kidman, but the carriers really took it up a notch following the recent announcements. “Only 6% connect via their laptops, and 4% via their tablets”. To many United States competitors, this reality gave such companies unfair advantages, allowing them to offer better quality services without charging much more for their tickets.
Beyond the humor, and the reminder that sometimes it can be nice to just sit back and relax on a flight, airlines have worked to minimize the impact of the electronic ban on passengers.
People who are not comfortable seeing their electronic devices checked in their luggage will be able to use them in the lounge and then hand their devices to Turkish Airlines officials at the boarding gate.
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly phoned lawmakers over the weekend to brief them on aviation security issues that have prompted the impending electronics ban, according a congressional aide briefed on the discussion. Passengers are asked to leave large electronic devices, including tablets, cameras and laptops, to be stored in a solid baggage.
But this may not keep everyone happy. “I need my laptop”, a user said on Twitter.
Britain said its ban must be implemented on Saturday, adding that passengers should act as if it has already come into effect.
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A United Kingdom government spokesperson said: “Decisions to make changes to our aviation security regime are never taken lightly”. But that would carry its own security implications.
