A ban on laptops in plane cabins bound for the US from some cities could deal a blow to the big, fast-growing Gulf airlines, which depend on business-class flyers stopping over in places like Dubai or Doha for far-flung destinations. The US announced the new measures on Tuesday and Britain followed suit, prompted by reports that militant groups want to smuggle explosive devices in electronic gadgets. The US restrictions apply to flights originating from 10 airports in countries including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Turkey, meaning they will impact major international carriers including Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines, but not US-based carriers, none of which fly to those airports. The British restrictions do not include the UAE or Qatar but will affect Turkish Airlines and UK-based carriers including British Airways, easyJet and Monarch. EasyJet said the UK restrictions apply from Wednesday. The restrictions are especially unfortunate for the Gulf carriers, since a large proportion of their revenue comes from passengers who change planes at their hubs and have other options that avoid affected airports. Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways have been battling lobbying from major U.S. carriers which have accused them of receiving unfair subsidies, charges the Gulf carriers deny. Tim Clark, president of Emirates, questioned why his airline's hub was on the list. "To suggest that Dubai doesn't have the equal capabilities or better than the Europeans, the Americans and the Asians in terms of search, interdiction and surveillance, I find amazing," he told broadcaster CNN. In an e-mail to Reuters, he played down the impact on the company's business: "Yes, this new security measure is disruptive and operationally challenging in several regards but I am optimistic we'll get through this."<br/>
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Even in Israel, renowned for its aviation security, a carry-on electronics ban on flights to the US and Britain from parts of the Middle East and North Africa had a former airport security chief shaking his head on Wednesday. "I don't quite understand the decision," said Pini Schiff, former head of security at Tel Aviv's Ben-Gurion airport, pointing to security gaps in the new rules that anyone aiming to smuggle explosives on to a commercial airliner might exploit. Under the regulations announced on Tuesday, electronic devices larger than cellphones are banned from the passenger cabins of planes flying directly from at least 10 airports in 10 Muslim-majority nations. Schiff said that still leaves open the possibility of hiding explosives in a device packed in luggage in the hold of an aircraft, or smuggling a bomb into the seating area of a connecting flight to the United States or Britain. "What can explode in the plane while it's in a passenger's hands can also explode in a cargo hold, because if you put a timer or a barometric pressure switch on it, you endanger the flight to the same degree," he said. Recalling the destruction of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 by a bomb that Libyan agents hid in a radio-cassette recorder in the jumbo jet's hold, Schiff said electronic devices like laptops and iPads have long been subject to scrutiny at airports around the world. But Schiff said, "there are airports in the world where the level of screening and expertise of the screeners is not that high, and subsequently there is a level of risk here". As an example, he said the level of security at Istanbul's Ataturk airport was lower than that at airports in western Europe. Not so, Schiff said, when it comes to Ben-Gurion airport. "Screeners at Ben-Gurion attend a course lasting several months until they are certified to operate a screening device. Things are different overseas. I don't want to disparage anyone, but it's different," he said. For departing passengers, the airport experience at Ben-Gurion is a combination of high-tech and thinly disguised profiling.<br/>
British Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said he would be contacting insurers on Wednesday to ask them to be "realistic" about the curbs on carry-on electronic devices on planes coming from certain airports in the Middle East and North Africa. On Tuesday, Britain joined the US in imposing restrictions on passengers traveling from a specific list of airports from taking devices larger than a mobile phone such as tablets and laptops into the main cabin of aircraft. "I will today be writing to the Association of British Insurers to ask them to be mindful of this issue," Grayling told parliament in response to a question that the move would put the devices at risk of theft or damage. "We will be asking the insurance industry to take that in mind and be realistic about this ..." The restrictions were prompted by reports that militant groups want to smuggle explosive devices inside electronic gadgets but Grayling said he would not give full details about why the decision was made. "We have taken the steps we have taken for good reason," he said, adding it was in response to an "evolving threat".<br/>
The UN's aviation agency on Wednesday urged regulators to weigh security and safety, after the United States and Britain imposed restrictions on several carry-on electronic devices on planes coming from certain airports in Muslim majority countries. A news statement published by the International Civil Aviation Organization stressed a balance between security “risk” and safety concerns, because "incidents involving devices containing lithium batteries may be more easily mitigated in the cabin than in checked baggage.” On Tuesday, the US Department of Homeland Security said passengers traveling from 10 airports in the Middle East and North Africa could no longer bring devices larger than a mobile phone such as a laptop into the main cabin, following reports that militant groups want to smuggle explosive devices inside electronic gadgets. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May later said there would also be curbs requiring electronic items to be transported as checked baggage on flights from six countries in the Middle East. The carry-on ban, while addressing security concerns, has some authorities worried about technical safety risks, such as lithium-powered goods catching fire in the hold. "Finding an effective balance between safety and security approaches is always a priority in global aviation," the ICAO statement said. In 2016, ICAO announced a prohibition on shipments of lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger planes. Industry experts are now working to develop new and improved packaging standards that could be used to safely transport these batteries on planes. ICAO has not decided whether to propose turning the carry-on electronics ban into a global standard, a second source said.<br/>
The US and United Kingdom bans on personal electronics in the cabin of some flights from the Mideast and Africa have sparked worry about the risk of fires from lithium-ion batteries stored in cargo. Rechargeable batteries have raised concerns for years because poor packing or manufacturing flaws can occasionally cause catastrophic problems. Storing batteries in cargo raises worry because that’s where a fire could spread unnoticed. “Any mishap you have in that checked luggage could cause a small fire, but trigger and light up these flammable materials” such as hair spray or nail polish packed in the luggage, said Michael Mo, CEO of KULR Technology, which is developing technology with NASA to prevent lithium batteries from overheating. “A much bigger fire in the cargo space is nothing that anybody wants.” Incidents of rechargeable battery fires are exceedingly rare, either in aviation or elsewhere. Government security officials said they worked with the FAA to ensure that electronics and their batteries are packed and shipped safely. The electronics ban applies to non-stop flights of nine airlines from eight countries in the Mideast and Africa. George Kerchner, executive director of the trade group PRBA – the Rechargeable Battery Association, said international standards for more than a decade have allowed electronics in checked luggage and spare batteries in carry-on bags. “We’re not aware of any additional risk that this presents,” Kerchner said. “The industry obviously has an outstanding record for safety. There are millions of electronic devices that people use every day and the record reflects that.”<br/>
Travellers across the Middle East expressed frustration on Wednesday (Mar 22) at a ban on large electronic devices for flights to the United States and Britain that has sparked confusion and speculation. From Saturday, passengers on flights to the United States and Britain from major hubs in Turkey and the Arab world will have to check in any device larger than a smartphone, including laptops and tablets. The US and Britain have cited intelligence indicating passenger jets could be targeted via explosives planted in electronic devices. Caught in the middle of the ban are thousands of travellers growing increasingly frustrated with what they see as an absurd measure. "Is there anything else I should know before flying back home? Navy blue boxers not allowed? Should I shave?" asked an American expat living in Abu Dhabi with a direct flight to the United States next week. As the Mar 25 enforcement deadline looms, passengers are growing increasingly wary of restrictions on living in and travelling from the Middle East. "They took my laptop and my camera," said Mustafa, who did not give his second name, as he boarded a plane out of Dubai to the United States. The US ban affects nine airlines from eight countries: Turkey, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The British ban, meanwhile, targets flights out of Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Lebanon. Canada and France have also said they are looking into similar regulations. Many were quick to flag a lack of logic behind justifications of the ban. "Every criminal in the Middle East: 'Oh no! We can't take the direct flight to the US! I hate connecting flights! *Cancels criminal plans*," Egyptian analyst Mohamed El Dahshan wrote on Twitter. Ankara has said it plans on requesting that the US repeal the measure.<br/>
While travellers face the prospect of being forced to check in laptops and tablet computers, another airline security hassle might get eased. Europe’s airport operators are in talks with regulators to introduce security technology enabling passengers to bring larger liquid items in carry-on bags, according to the Airports Council International trade body. Systems to check for explosives without removing fluids from hand luggage are being tested at some locations in cooperation with the EU. The bid to loosen rules for carrying drinks and toiletries onto airliners highlights shifting industry concerns after US and UK authorities announced restrictions, starting Saturday, for consumer electronics aboard planes, reacting to unspecified security risks. The limits on liquid containers passengers date back to 2006, when terrorists attempted to blow up trans-Atlantic planes with home-made explosives. The EC “is doing a study working with manufacturers, and we’re going to run pilots at our airports, to help check the performance of the technology,” ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec said Tuesday at a briefing in London. “The problem we have at the moment is that we don’t know that the screening technology for liquid explosives is up to the task of not impacting passenger throughput.”<br/>
When the US announced new restrictions on large electronics on flights from some Middle East and North African countries, the news was greeted with surprise and in, some cases, suspicion. Some worried the move was a disguised piece of protectionism against Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad, the big three Gulf airlines most affected by the measure. Britain’s decision to impose a similar ban on carrying large devices into the main cabin provided reassurance that at least one other government thought restrictions necessary. But the disparities between the US and UK bans have raised further questions. The US government deemed it unsafe to let passengers travel with large electronics from eight middle eastern and north African countries. The UK’s own list of six countries added two countries not covered by the US measures but left out four that the US included. At present, the UK regards it as safe to let passengers travelling direct from the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Morocco to carry large electronics while the US does not. Sally Leivesley, managing director of Newrisk, a security consultancy, says the UK and US receive “totally different” patterns of flights from the affected countries, which may affect their perceptions of the risks involved. “It’s natural that different countries will have different risk assessments,” she says. The sudden announcement of the ban added to the confusion. There was no consultation of the airline industry or of bodies such as the ICAO, which would normally be involved. “This would have been much more effective and well thought-through had industry been involved in the thinking process,” says Matthew Finn, an aviation security adviser whom is critical of how the ban has been introduced. Finn is also one of many observers to have expressed bafflement at why the ban allows passengers to check potentially dangerous electronics in aircraft holds but not in cabins. <br/>
Vietnam’s aviation authority has suspended three air traffic controllers, including one who fell asleep while on duty, for causing delays for two flights. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said in a statement on its website late Tuesday that it had recommended that the sleeping controller and one other controller also be fined.<br/>The statement said the incident was a threat to safety, adding that the head of the air traffic control was also suspended. The online Dan Tri newspaper reported that the crews on two flights of budget airline Vietjet Air — one departing for South Korea and one arriving from Ho Chi Minh City — could not contact the air traffic control at Cat Bi international airport in northern city of Hai Phong for 33 minutes on March 9. The aviation authority was reviewing operations at Cat Bi air traffic control and said officials would implement measures to prevent a repeat of the incident.<br/>
A new start-up says that it intends to offer an electric-powered commercial flight from London to Paris in 10 years. Its plane, yet to go into development, would carry 150 people on journeys of less than 300 miles. Wright Electric said by removing the need for jet fuel, the price of travel could drop dramatically. British low-cost airline Easyjet has expressed its interest in the technology. "Easyjet has had discussions with Wright Electric and is actively providing an airline operator's perspective on the development of this exciting technology," the airline said. However, significant hurdles need to be overcome if Wright Electric is to make the Wright One, pictured above, a reality. The company is relying heavily on innovation in battery technology continuing to improve at its current rate. If not, the firm will not be able to build in enough power to give the plane the range it needs.<br/>Industry experts are wary of the company's claims. Graham Warwick, technology editor of Aviation Weekly, said such technology was a "long way away". "The battery technology is not there yet," he said. "It's projected to come but it needs a significant improvement. Nobody thinks that is going to happen anytime soon. And there's all the [safety] certification - those rules are yet to be created, and that takes time."<br/>
A new 14-gate concourse will be added to Washington National Airport (DCA) by 2021 as part of a $1b expansion project. The “commuter concourse” will replace 14 outdoor positions now used by regional aircraft at DCA. The expansion project will commence this summer. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), which also manages Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), said the project will additionally include the construction of two new screening checkpoints that will enable passengers to go through security before entering the primary retail area of the airport’s main terminal. Currently, Terminal B/C’s checkpoints are situated so that passengers are cut off from the airport’s largest restaurants and high-end retail shops once they go through security screening. The setup also creates crowding at DCA’s gates because so much of the airport’s main terminal area is unable to be occupied by passengers waiting to board flights. The new checkpoints, which will expand DCA’s screening lane capacity from 20 to 28 lanes, are slated to be completed by 2020.<br/>
Boeing plans to conduct the first flight of the 787-10, the third and largest Dreamliner variant, on March 31 from North Charleston, South Carolina. Boeing rolled out the first 787-10 from its plant in North Charleston, the exclusive site for 787-10 final assembly, in a Feb. 17 ceremony attended by US President Donald Trump. A media advisory sent to reporters indicates the 787-10 will take off at approximately 10 a.m. local time March 31 and fly for about 4 hr. and 30 min. The aircraft will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 TEN engines. Boeing cautioned that weather or other factors could necessitate a change in the planned first flight date. An 18-ft. stretch of the 787-9, the 787-10 can seat 330 passengers in a single-class layout.<br/>