The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Sudden electronics ban leaves thousands without proper cover
Thousands of travellers are likely to be flying with electrical items that are uninsured in the wake of an unexpected ban on carrying laptops and iPads on flights from the Middle East. The Government announced the restrictions on Wednesday and said they were due to come into force today. But the move is thought to have caught travellers unaware.
Anyone flying to the UK from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia or Saudi Arabia will now have to put electronic devices larger than a smartphone in their hold luggage – making them exempt from travel insurance policies – or face having them confiscated.
“One of the problems for passengers who are forced to check electronic equipment into their hold baggage is security from theft while they are in the baggage handling system,” said Nick Trend, Telegraph Travel’s consumer advice expert.
“A laptop could easily be worth more than £1,000; an iPad £500. Most travel insurance policies will not cover articles which cost so much… especially if they are checked into hold baggage.
“There is also, of course, the risk of damage from shock while a suitcase is being loaded and unloaded from the aircraft and baggage belts. Again, insurance will not usually cover such damage.”
Travel journalist Caroline Eden is currently working in Uzbekistan but due to fly home via Istanbul in two weeks’ time.
“I have at least £2,400 of kit – camera, MacBook, which has my life on it,” she said, adding that she’d had “silence so far” from her airline, Turkish Airlines.
“[There’s] no good option. I see three options: risk checking it in and hope nothing smashes or gets stolen. Buy a direct flight to London from Uzbekistan – very expensive and insurance probably won’t cover it, or buy a hard case as I travel with a duffel bag.”
Research by Which? magazine found that five major travel insurance companies – Aviva, Axa, Churchill, Direct Line and LV – did not have cover in place for valuables placed in the hold for loss, theft or damage. Aviva this week said it would extend its baggage insurance to cover laptops for as long as the restrictions applied.
The speed with which the ban has been introduced – following the lead of a similar ban introduced by the US – has led to confusion and fears of disruption on routes that carry three million people a year.
It has this week been scrutinised by security experts, with one telling Telegraph Travel it was like “using a sledgehammer to crack a nut”.
Dr Kevin Curran, a professor of cyber security and expert in aviation technology said: “I wish there was more clarity. If terrorists know about it, there’s nothing stopping them flying different routes or using several large smartphones.
“Terrorists can start their campaign from any country – surely it has to be applied universally to work. And what can the scanner at the airport not pick up on laptops?
“It will affect parents trying to entertain their kids.”
James Wood, a travel risk expert at International SOS, said the restrictions might yet be extended to other countries.
“The UK and US have intelligencesharing relationships with numerous countries: Canada has already announced it has received information from the US and is analysing it for potential action, and European governments are almost certainly undertaking a similar review,” he said.
“This restriction is likely to be in force for some time – months, rather than days or weeks.”