The US and British governments have imposed a ban on carrying electronics devices apart from a mobile or smart phone inside cabin on flights flying direct to these countries that originate from several Middle Eastern countries as well as Turkey.

The ban is a response to extremists seeking innovative methods to bring down jets, according to the US Homeland Security Department.

“”Evaluated intelligence indicates that terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation and are aggressively pursuing innovative methods to undertake their attacks, to include smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items,” the authority said in a published statement.

The US ban will take effect on 25 March and is valid until 14 October, according to an Emirates Airline statement citing a directive from the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

Airports affected by the US ban are:

• Queen Alia International (Amman, Jordan)
• Cairo International (Cairo, Egypt)
• Ataturk International (Istanbul, Turkey),
• King Abdul-Aziz International (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
• King Khalid International (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
• Kuwait International (Kuwait)
• Mohammed V (Casablanca, Morocco)
• Hamad International (Doha, Qatar)
• Dubai International (Dubai, UAE)
• Abu Dhabi International (Abu Dhabi, UAE)

Banned items include:

• Laptops
• Tablets
• E-readers
• Cameras
• Portable DVD players
• Electronic game units larger than a smart phone
• Travel printers/scanners

The US Homeland Security said these devices will not be allowed to be carried on board the aircraft in carry-on luggage or other accessible property. “Electronic devices that exceed this size limit must be secured in checked luggage,” the statement said.

Necessary medical devices are exempted from the ban and will be allowed to remain in a passenger’s possession after they are screened.

The ban on these devices does not apply to flights originating from US airports.

A similar ban targeting any device larger than “16cm long, 9.3cm wide or 1.5cm deep” has been imposed by the British government on all inbound direct flights to the UK from  Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.

According to a BBC report, the affected flights include those  operated by both UK and overseas carriers. The British carriers affected by the ban are:

• British Airways
• EasyJet
• Jet2.com
• Monarch
• Thomas Cook
• Thomson

 Foreign carriers affected by the UK ban include:

• Turkish Airlines (Turkey)
• Pegasus Airways (Turkey)
• Atlas-Global Airlines (Turkey)
• Middle East Airlines (Lebanon)
• Egyptair (Egypt)
• Royal Jordanian (Jordan)
• Tunis Air (Tunisia)
• Saudia (Saudi Arabia)

In February 2016, a Daallo Airlines passenger plane made an emergency landing in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, with a huge hole on one side and one passenger missing. The attack was claimed by Islamist militant group Al-Shabab. According to the BBC, the missing man was identified as Abdulahi Abdisalam Borle, who was carrying a Somali passport.

On the day of the incident, the man and other passengers were scheduled to fly on a Turkish Airlines flight, which got cancelled. The passengers were then transferred to the Somali-owned and UAE-based Daallo Airlines. A video footage obtained later from Somali airport showed the missing passenger being handed a laptop after he passed through the airport security checkpoint. Authorities have concluded that an explosive device was concealed in the laptop.