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The US and UK are banning laptops from cabin baggage on flights from certain countries in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Turkey.

The US ban on electronic devices larger than a smartphone is being imposed as an anti-terrorist precaution.

It covers inbound flights on nine airlines operating out of 10 airports. Phones are not affected.

The British ban, announced hours after the American measure, is similar but applies to different airlines.

Downing Street said airline passengers on 14 carriers would not be able to carry laptops in cabin luggage on inbound direct flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.

The Turkish government said the US ban was wrong and should be reversed.

Will the new US travel rules affect me?

What about the parents?

Large electronic devices will still be allowed on board in checked baggage.

Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau said his country was also considering restrictions on electronics in the cabins of planes.

Which flights are affected?

British Airways and EasyJet are among the airlines affected by the UK ban.

The nine airlines affected by the US ban are Royal Jordanian, EgyptAir, Turkish Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways.

The 10 airports affected are:

1. Mohammed V International, Casablanca, Morocco

2. Ataturk Airport, Istanbul, Turkey

3. Cairo International Airport, Egypt

4. Queen Alia International, Amman, Jordan

5. King Abdulaziz International, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

6. King Khalid International, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

7. Kuwait International Airport

8. Hamad International, Doha, Qatar

9. Abu Dhabi International, United Arab Emirates

10. Dubai International, United Arab Emirates

The airlines included in the US decision have been given a deadline of 07:00 GMT on Saturday to impose the ban, officials said, adding that the restriction had no end date.

However, an Emirates spokeswoman told Reuters news agency the airline understood that the US directive would come into effect on 25 March and remain valid until 14 October 2017.

Why now?

The restriction is based, we are told, on "evaluated intelligence", BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner writes.

That means that US intelligence has either intercepted discussion of a possible extremist plot or has been passed word of one by a human informant.

The Middle Eastern and North African airports affected are nearly all ones with close, friendly relations with Washington, so this will be seen by some as a drastic and unpopular measure. Wealthy Gulf Arab business leaders flying to the US, for example, will no longer be able to work on their laptops mid-flight.

But aviation security experts were alarmed by an incident in Somalia last year when the insurgent group al-Shabaab smuggled an explosive-filled laptop on a flight out of Mogadishu, blowing a hole in the side of the plane. The aircraft was still low enough that the pilot was able to land the plane safely.

What happened on the bombed Somali plane?

How is the ban being justified?

In a statement, the DHS cited attacks on planes and airports over the past two years.

Bombs, it said, had been hidden in such items as a soft drink can, in the downing of a Russian airliner over Egypt in October 2015 with the loss of 224 lives, and the laptop used in the unsuccessful Somali attack last year.

"Terrorists have historically tried to hide explosives in shoes in 2001, use liquid explosives in 2006, and conceal explosives in printers in 2010 and suicide devices in underwear in 2009 and 2012," it noted.

"Evaluated intelligence indicates that terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation, to include smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items," the DHS said.

A British Government spokesperson said: "The additional security measures may cause some disruption for passengers and flights, and we understand the frustration that will cause, but our top priority will always be to maintain the safety of British nationals."

Will the ban be effective?

Turkish Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan told reporters the ban was "not a right move".

"We particularly emphasise how this will not benefit the passenger and that reverse steps or a softening should be adopted," he added.

Philip Baum, editor in chief of Aviation Security magazine, told the BBC: "If we cannot, in 2017, distinguish between a laptop that contains an IED [improvised explosive device] and one that does not, then our screening process is completely flawed.

"And encouraging people to check laptops, and other such items, into the luggage hold simply makes the challenge even harder. Cabin baggage can, at least, be inspected piece by piece and the accompanying passenger questioned."

Simon Calder, travel editor of the UK's Independent newspaper, suggested the British ban would affect travellers differently because it included budget flights.

"It's easy for the Americans, they don't have as many flights as us coming in and furthermore they don't have things like low-cost flights where I'm not going to pay to check in a bag," he told the BBC.

"And suddenly I've got my laptop, I'm going to have to put that in a little bag and hand it in. Oh, and by the way, good news for petty thieves all over the airports of the world because lots of rich pickings are going to be around."

Is this linked to the Trump travel ban?

Officials quoted by Reuters news agency said the new measure was not connected to US President Donald Trump's efforts to ban travellers from six Muslim-majority states.

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Laptops banned from cabin on some flights

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The US and UK are banning laptops from cabin baggage on flights from certain countries in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Turkey. The US ban on electronic devices larger than a smartphone is being imposed as an anti-terrorist precaution. It covers inbound flights on nine airlines operating out of 10 airports.

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The Trump administration on Tuesday imposed restrictions on carry-on electronic devices on planes coming to the United States from 10 airports in Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and North Africa in response to unspecified terrorism threats.

The Department of Homeland Security said passengers traveling from those airports could not bring devices larger than a cellphone, such as tablets, portable DVD players, laptops and cameras, into the main cabin. Instead, they must be in checked baggage.

The new restrictions were prompted by reports that militant groups want to smuggle explosive devices in electronic gadgets, officials told reporters on a conference call on Monday.

They did not provide further details on the threat.

The airports are in Cairo; Istanbul; Kuwait City; Doha, Qatar; Casablanca, Morocco; Amman, Jordan; Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates.

Officials said the decision had nothing to do with President Donald Trump's efforts to impose a travel ban on six majority-Muslim nations. A DHS spokeswoman said the government "did not target specific nations. We relied upon evaluated intelligence to determine which airports were affected."

On March 6, Trump signed a revised executive order barring citizens from Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from traveling to the United States for 90 days. Two federal judges have halted parts of the ban, saying it discriminates against Muslims. Trump has vowed to appeal up to the Supreme Court if necessary.

The airports affected by the electronics rules are served by nine airlines that fly directly from those cities to the United States about 50 times a day, senior government officials said.

The carriers - Royal Jordanian Airlines, Egypt Air, Turkish Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Kuwait Airways , Royal Air Maroc, Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways - have until Friday to comply with the new policy, which took effect early on Tuesday and will be in place indefinitely.

However, an Emirates spokeswoman who confirmed the Dubai-based airline was affected by the restrictions said the new security directive would last until Oct. 14.

The policy does not affect any American carriers because none fly directly to the United States from the airports, officials said.

Officials did not explain why the restrictions only apply to travelers arriving in the United States and not for those same flights when they leave the United States.

The rules do apply to U.S. citizens traveling on those flights, but not to crew members on those foreign carriers. Homeland Security will allow passengers to use larger approved medical devices.

The agency said the procedures would "remain in place until the threat changes" and did not rule out expanding them to other airports.

DHS said in a statement it "seeks to balance risk with impacts to the traveling public and has determined that cellphones and smartphones will be allowed in accessible property at this time."

The government said it is "concerned about terrorists' ongoing interest in targeting commercial aviation, including transportation hubs over the past two years."

Reuters reported Monday that the move had been under consideration since the U.S. government learned of a threat several weeks ago.

U.S. officials have told Reuters the information gleaned from a U.S. commando raid in January in Yemen that targeted al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula included bombmaking techniques.

AQAP, based in Yemen, has plotted to down U.S. airliners and claimed responsibility for 2015 attack on the office of Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris.

The group claimed responsibility for a Dec. 25, 2009, failed attempt by a Nigerian Islamist to down an airliner over Detroit. The device, hidden in the underwear of the man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, failed to detonate.

In 2010, security officials in Britain and Dubai intercepted parcel bombs sent from Yemen to the United States.

The Homeland Security Department stepped up security of U.S.-bound flights in July 2014, requiring tougher screening of mobile phones and other electronic devices and requiring them to be powered up before passengers could board flights to the United States.

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US bans laptops, iPads in carry-on bags from airports in 8 Islamic countries due to bomb fears

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The Trump administration on Tuesday imposed restrictions on carry-on electronic devices on planes coming to the United States from 10 airports in Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and North Africa in response to unspecified terrorism threats.