Britain Announces New Cautionary Airport Security Measures

 

From today, large electronic items such as laptops, tablets, e-readers, games consoles and portable DVD players will be banned on flights to the UK from six countries.

The six countries affected are – Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. So, flights travelling to and from other countries will continue to operate as normal.

How will this affect you?

All electronic items larger than 16cm in length, 9.3cm in width and 1.5cm in depth will need to be stored in your hold luggage. This ban also applies to any items purchased in duty free and connecting flights via these countries.

As it stands, you will still be able to stow items including hairdryers, straighteners, travel irons, electrical shavers and e-cigarettes in your hand luggage.

Most smartphones will not be affected by this change and can still be carried in your hand luggage as normal. However, be sure to check your phone meets the required measurements before you travel.

TUI, British Airways, EasyJet, Jet2 and Monarch are among the UK airlines that will be affected by this new ruling.

What does this mean?

After much discussion, it is still undecided what will happen to those passengers who turn up to the gate with any of the mentioned items.

It’s thought passengers who wish to take any of the banned electrical devices from the above countries, yet have only carried hand luggage, will be made to pay extra for a checked-in bag. And, if they refuse to do so, their items will have to be left behind.

Going forward travellers will be advised to check in ahead of time as they will be added checks – once going through security to make sure your items don’t exceed the required limits, and again at the gate for passengers who have checked in online.

This sudden move comes after the US decided to ban all large electronic items on flights from 10 airports in eight countries, it is unclear how long these new regulations will last for both the UK and the US.