Here's How America's Electronics Ban Could Affect Indian Travellers

The invention of mobile devices revolutionised the experience of air travel, anyone who has been trapped on a long-haul flight will attest to this. The ability to tune out to the movie of your choice or work on that long-overdue paper gave the hours in the air seem less oppressive and more productive. Perhaps this is why the announcement by the American Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is causing such a furore. As of the 21st, all electronic devices ‘larger than a cellphone’ have been banned on flights into the USA from ten major Middle-Eastern airports. Mobile phones and pre-approved medical devices are not included within the ambit of this directive.

Passengers on any flight to the US - whether direct or connecting - that originate in any of the ten cities must check-in all large devices when boarding and can reclaim them at their destination city. This will be a huge blow to business travellers from Indian and Asia as the internet has become a necessary lifeline and the Middle-East used to serve as a convenient pit-stop from where to conduct matters in comfort. For example if your flight route were Mumbai - Abu Dhabi - New York all your large electronics would be surrendered in Mumbai and returned to you at your final destination - New York - with no option to retrieve them during your Abu Dhabi layover. The only way to circumvent this annoyance is to catch a direct flight or reroute around the Middle-East.

The officials at the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have cited potential terrorist attacks as the cause of this ban. Tech experts have questioned this logic saying that if that were the case, the same risks exist from electronics stored in the cargo hold. Though these doubts exist, the ban stands true for the foreseeable future so anyone planning a trip to the US of A should start looking very carefully at the list below unless they’re prepared to embark on a journey the old-fashioned way.

The electronic ban will affect all flights to the US from the following airports:

• Amman (AMM)
  
• Abu Dhabi (AUH)
• Cairo (CAI)
• Casablanca (CAS)
• Dubai (DXB)
• Doha (DOH)
• Istanbul (IST)
• Jeddah (JED)
• Kuwait City (KWI)
• Riyadh (RUH)