UK also announces device ban on flights

In another development, the UK has also issued a ban on passengers using most electronic devices on flights from some Middle Eastern countries, according to Sky News.

The news follows the US restriction on the use of gadgets on flights from Muslim-majority countries into the US announced by the US Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday morning.

The UK on Tuesday announced a cabin baggage ban on laptops on passenger flights from six Middle East and North African countries. Details of the this ban are however sketchy, but could be similar to that of the U.S. covering all electronic devices bigger than a smartphone – that includes laptops, tablets, gaming devices, e-readers, and portable DVD players.

According to Downing Street, the government is following global talks on air security, which were “necessary, effective and proportionate”. At the moment, Eight (8) UK airlines and six (6) foreign airlines are affected by the ban.

BBC home affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford says the move was “obviously part of co-ordinated action with the US”. 

—The Verge, BBC, CNN, Guardian UK, Independent UK