UK laptop ban on flights to be introduced 'in days'

[LONDON] Britain's ban on laptops and tablet computers in the cabin on flights from several Middle Eastern and North African countries will be introduced "in the coming days", a Downing Street spokesman said Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Britain said it would tighten airline security on direct flights originating from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey.

The move came hours after the US government warned that extremists plan to target passenger jets with bombs hidden in electronic devices, and issued a ban on flights from 10 airports in eight countries.

Although the US announced that they had given airlines 96 hours to inform travellers before the ban came into force at 3:00am (0700 GMT) on Tuesday, there was confusion over when the British ban would kick in.

The government told the domestic Press Association news agency on Wednesday that it had immediately informed the 14 airlines impacted by the new measure, but that it would be introduced "in the coming days".

"We are working with the airlines," a Downing Street spokesman confirmed to AFP, adding that "passengers should contact their airlines to find out if it applied to them".

However, no mention was made as to when the new measure would come into effect.

When contacted by AFP, British Airways, one of the airlines affected by the new measure, said it was up to the government to communicate on the issue.

EasyJet was also unable to provide AFP with more information.

AFP