Airlines respond to U.S. laptop ban

In the wake of new U.S. rules targeting carry-on electronic devices of passengers arriving from the Middle East on foreign airlines, several of the affected carriers have launched their own responses.

The so-called ‘laptop ban,’ enacted earlier this week, will require passengers of foreign airlines arriving from 10 airports in Muslim-majority countries to check most electronic devices larger than a cellphone.

In response, Emirates announced this week that it will introduce a new service to enable customers to use their laptops and tablet devices until just before they board their flights to the US.

In a statement, Emirates said that its customers travelling to the U.S. via Dubai will be able to use their laptops and tablet devices on the first part of their journeys, and also during transit in Dubai. They must then declare and hand over their laptops, tablets and other banned electronic devices to security staff at the gate just before boarding their U.S.-bound flight. The devices will be carefully packed into boxes, loaded into the aircraft hold, and returned to the customer at their U.S. destination. There will not be any charge for this service.

On a lighter note, Royal Jordanian launched a humorous social media campaign on its Twitter feed, offering advice to passengers who are suddenly faced with the prospect of a 12-hour flight with no laptop or tablet. Among the suggestions are ‘say hello to the person next to you’ and ‘appreciate the miracle of flight.’

Taking a similar approach, Turkish Airlines celebrated the milestone of 2 billion minutes of entertainment consumed by passengers last year.