To wonder how people will work on planes?

[KenAdams]

The new rules about no laptops in the cabin seem very restrictive for people who are travelling on business.

AIBU to think it's too restrictive? Surely a laptop bomb anywhere on the plane will cause significant damage?

If a bomb can be in a kindle, it can just as easily be in a phone. Phones are still allowed, aren't they?
It's as much about safety as Trumps muslim ban was: ie not at all.

"Unless they are actually a trained X-ray scanner operator, 'any idiot' wouldn't have a clue what they are looking for"

We can safely assume that anyone actually operating an x-ray scanner at the airport has actually be trained to operate it. What exactly is your point?

Apart from the obvious issues, the thing that really worries me is if, sooner or later, this turns into banning people who've originated in certain places, instead of their transport

I don't doubt the "bad guys" would get round even that, but am thinking of the awful effects it would have on everyone else

We can safely assume that anyone actually operating an x-ray scanner at the airport has actually be trained to operate it

You'd hope so, yes, but experience of airports in some of the places mentioned does cause me to wonder if we can be quite so confident

Nor is it just about the actual technical training; once "qualified", there may be issues around compliance to be looked at as well

We live in the USA and dh flies to the Middle East every couple of months for work. He will just fly via Frankfurt from now on and be able to keep his laptop with him in the cabin. He needs to be able to work on the flight and not have his laptop smashed on the way to client meetings.

ImF - no. A phone is too small to contain enough explosives to cause real damage. A kindle is bigger and can. Apparently that's the case. I don't have a kindle to compare size but from memory they are bigger than most mobiles. I don't have a problem with the flight as I tend to take 3 large books actually for long flights =- it's not being prepared to use the hold for valuables and needing to earn money whilst away and thus needing a lap top whilst away which is the issue for me. Anyway it's no hardship taking Turkey off the list -horrible place getting more and more sexist every day of the year as it moves away from the sensible secular rules Attaturk set up there all those years ago.

My phone and my kindle are in front of me, the phone is smaller but significantly thicker, the kindle is incredibly thin. There is no way you could put a bomb in my kindle that couldn't also fit in my phone.

I doubt you could put enough of anything in either, tbh, but they are certainly comparable.

Emirates announce a partial work around

They have been incredibly proactive through this. Their "no tablet. Use our world class inflight entertainment" hit social media really quickly, and now this, which gets around many (but not all) of the concerns. Bravo Emirates. You are showing why you are an airline that is going from strength to strength.

I daresay there will be a few entrepreneurs setting up laptop rental businesses at airports, or offering courier services to post tech to destinations.
People will probably start backing up work to cloud storage or USB memory sticks and working on borrowed laptops at their destinations.
People will find workarounds.

"A phone is too small to contain enough explosives to cause real damage. A kindle is bigger and can. I don't have a kindle to compare size"

Maybe you should not pass judgement on stuff you don't really know. Here is a photo of my camera and Kindle Oasis, next to a CD for reference. Where, pray tell, would you fit a bomb inside my Kindle, which is barely thicker than a CD for most of its length?

"I don't have a problem with the flight as I tend to take 3 large books actually for long flights"

So, all will be fine as long as we live in the 20th Century? Who in their right mind in this day and age wants to carry 3 large books in the one cabin luggage they are allowed?

"no hardship taking Turkey off the list -horrible place getting more and more sexist every day of the year as it moves away from the sensible secular rules Attaturk set up there all those years ago."

His name was ATATURK, not "Attaturk". Again, stick to talking about stuff you actually know.

FYI that "horrible place" is where many of my friends and family members live perfectly normal, modern, secular lives. Turkey's legal system, institutions, and political system have suffered greatly under Erdogan, but the people on the ground are the same, their traditions and values are unchanged, and it is fucking offensive that some tourist who gets her info from tabloids & can't even spell "Ataturk" feels she has the right to call the entire country a "horrible place" and pass judgement on life there.

The Kindle. Good luck putting a bomb in it.

"Passengers will be required to declare their large electronic devices to security agents before boarding US-bound flights. The devices would then be packed in secure boxes and stored in the aircraft's cargo hold. The boxes would be returned to the travelers once they reached the US. " Useful link above - thanks.

I probably know more about the history of Turkey than most posters actually and I've worked there briefly too. I am very sad about Turkey and its increasing move further backwards and towards Islam. I will not be the only one on here who is not a fan of Erdogan. I hope the people there can fight back.

While I obviously get it's happening for a reason and must be complied with, it will have a massive effect on business travellers.

There's absolutely no way I'll be allowed to put my laptop in the hold... for security reasons as well as the obvious loss/ damage concerns. I think it'll just lead to a whole lot more video conferencing where possible and possibly burner laptops where laptops have to be taken.

I'm also pretty sure it won't be long until this ban is extending to cover more routes/ airlines.

Turkish Airlines announce a similar work around to Emirates - keep electronics til boarding, then wrap and stow in hold. Returned at Baggage reclaim.