The decision to ban laptops and tablets on flights to the United States from 10 Middle Eastern countries has put a hurting on airlines, a new report claims.
The new rules, put into place earlier this year, negatively affected long-haul airlines Etihad and Emirates, according to the Associated Press. Countries affected by the laptop ban include United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
The report notes that Etihad operates 45 flights a week between Abu Dhabi and six U.S. cities. Since the laptop ban, the airline slashed 20 percent of its flights to America on business grounds — presumably because banning laptops and tablets on the journey means people traveling on business are less likely to fly.
Over the weekend, U.S. Transportation Security Administration officials agreed to exempt capital city Abu Dhabi from the laptop ban, thereby giving Etihad an advantage over rivals in the region. Other bans remain in place.
The original decision to implement such a ban grew out of concerns that terrorists may be looking to attack airliners and transportation hubs. It was ordered after a foiled plot to smuggle a bomb disguised as an iPad onto a plane.
As a response to the ban, some airlines have tried to cut down on the inconvenience caused to flyers by launching new electronics loaner programs, giving passengers the option to rent an iPad while their own device is safely stored inside the plane’s cargo hold.
It remains to be seen whether other countries can make similar arguments to gain exemptions from the ban.
Source: Associated Press
