US should take a leaf from El Al's security playbook

AS Royal Jordanian's surprise tweet about a cabin ban on electronic items on flights to the United States from March 21 2017 sank in, travellers and airlines scrambled to assess the impact of the action messily and mysteriously orchestrated by the Trump administration, eventually encompassing up to a dozen airlines from eight largely Muslim Middle Eastern countries. Britain responded in kind with restrictions imposed on six countries - Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia - affecting in all, 15 airlines.

US airlines have not been affected by the restrictions.

While the US ban also covers Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi - along with their popular powerhouse airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad Airways - Britain remained reluctant to include these three airlines much favoured by value-seeking Britons headed on holidays to South-east Asia and Australia. Indeed, their inclusion could spell economic disaster for the three national carriers, frequently criticised by less competitive US players for being coddled by state subsidies. There is rarely any ment…