In-flight restrictions: Connecting flights to US via Gulf not a great idea

Carriage restrictions on electronics in US-bound flights from the Gulf will hit Indian passengers

Indian passengers headed to the US will be inconvenienced by the new Trump administration order regarding carriage of certain electronic devices on US-bound flights from West Asian (Middle East) and North African countries even though India does not feature on the restriction list. 

Travellers headed to the US from eight Muslim-majority countries in West Asia and North Africa, including from major global hubs like Dubai, have been barred from carrying electronic devices larger than a cell phone, like cameras and laptops, as cabin baggage under a new flight restriction enacted on Tuesday by the Trump administration.  (Read more).

Since, under the new order, all US-bound passengers originating or transiting through airports like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, or Doha will have to carry any electronic devices larger than a smartphone in checked luggage only, this could mean that any Indian passengers, who have historically travelled to the US via these hubs, would have to look for direct flights. (Read more).

While this might prove beneficial for certain airlines, like Air India which operates direct flights to the US and expects more passenger traffic to come its way as a result of the restrictions, it will mean that Indian passengers will have fewer options in terms of the airline they can take and ticket pricing. 

The number of Indians who travel to the US via the Gulf is not small either. According to a Centre for Aviation report of 2015, passengers from India account for a third of all passengers on Gulf airlines' US routes. Further, of the two top carriers on the India-US routes, Air India and Emirates, the latter will be hit by the restrictions.

“... If they (Indian passengers) are travelling via the Gulf or any of the eight countries where the ban is imposed, then the passengers have to keep the electronic devices other than mobile phones in the checked baggage. We are not issuing any advisory as of now,” a Directorate General of Civil Aviation official told the Hindustan Times.

No love for the IT guy

 Information technology professionals, used to employing the long flight durations to squeeze in work, have not taken kindly to the new restriction. 

Speaking to The Times of India, an Indian IT professional said: "We can at best respond to some pending emails, but we can't code mid-air. Any technical work requires us to collaborate with the teams on ground, hence it's not very productive working on-board."

An aviation blogger told the national daily that his concerns were regarding the safety of his hardware. "Will you put your laptop into a check-in baggage? Are you going to risk your laptop in a check-in baggage considering how such baggage are handled? Who is going to be responsible for the damage?" he asked. 

The new order was issued citing the threat of terrorism to the US. Under the tough security restrictions, passengers will have to check in any devices bigger than a smartphone, including iPads, Kindles and laptops, before clearing security or boarding, US officials said.

The open-ended ban will affect more than 50 flights from 10 airports. The nine airlines, including Emirates Airline, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines, affected by the ban were notified of the procedures by the Transportation Security Administration on Tuesday and must comply within 96 hours.