Electronics ban on US flights wasn’t worth it

The cabin ban on laptops for flights to the US was bad for business. There was no actionable threat, yet the US implemented it. It hurt both airlines and passengers from the Middle East for four months. Washington’s decision to lift the ban in parts has come as a relief to both travellers and carriers. There was a ‘specific security threat’ when the measure was imposed by the Trump administration in March. Large electronic devices were to be part of checked-in luggage. Airlines felt the pinch as passengers, particularly business travellers deserted them, which forced carriers like large carriers Emirates to drop routes to US cities. The US Department of Homeland Security was even considering extending the ban to all countries at the height of the confusion. Since then, President Donald Trump has opened a new relationship with the GCC countries. His visit to Saudi Arabia in May may have opened his eyes to the non-existent threat.

Security at airports in the Gulf countries has never been a cause for concern. So, we wonder why the ban was enforced in the first place. Perhaps, the administration wanted to play it safe and decided to tar every country with the same brush for the actions of a few — like the incident involving a passenger who attempted to bring down a plane in Somalia in 2016 using an explosive electronic device in the cabin. Fortunately, it went off too soon and only the terrorist was sucked through the cabin; the plane landed safely with other passengers. That was the only incident of concern, but for some inexplicable reason the US went ahead with the major (but wasted) ban that only added to the economic woes of airlines and made every Muslim traveller a suspect in Washington’s eyes. Abu Dhabi and Dubai airports have pre-clearance facilities that allows passengers to clear Immigration and Customs before they board their flights. This means they arrive in the US as domestic passengers, according to our report. The stress wasn’t worth it for travellers. Loss of revenue for airlines and wasted hours for passengers in flight are now consigned to the past. They can now get down to business, and the pleasure of flying.