Well, after years of passenger complaints, The ‘authorities finally relented last year and conceded that there was actually no reason why you couldn’t use your phones, iPods, tablets and laptops inside a plane. The ban even extended to using modern ‘electronic’ cameras on occasions!
So now, airlines are starting to let us go ahead and use our devices for a bit of entertainment … and now US and UK are starting to ban them again … apparently, you, or rather some unsavoury terrorists, are able to hide explosives inside tablets and do damage to the planes …
The UK ban on tablets, laptops, games consoles and other devices larger than a mobile phone came into effect on Saturday. It applies to inbound flights from six countries – Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey. Six UK airlines – British Airways, EasyJet, Jet2, Monarch, Thomas Cook and Thomson – and eight foreign carriers are affected. This follows a similar move in the US, which applies to flights from 10 airports in eight countries – Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.
I would have thought that if the plane arrived safely, then there wasn’t a problem, … but what would I know?
Now, you need to pack your tablets in your luggage; and have it carried in the plane’s hold … and, presumably, it is OK for it to explode there. Hmmm.