Disparity between US and UK airline curbs baffles experts

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/>