DOHA NOW REMOVED FROM LAPTOP BAN LIST
(Posted 06th July 2017)
Qatar Airways passengers can breath a sigh of relief after the US government has removed Doha from the list of airport from where passengers were not allowed to take their laptops or larger tablets and smartphones on board, a ban issued several months ago.
Aviation sources at the time were swift to condemn the action as irrational and posting in fact a greater threat to aviation safety and security than carrying such items on board and a recent incident proved them right.
A laptop, which on a US domestic flight, began to emit smoke through its carry on bag, despite being completely switched off, prompted immediate counter measures by the crew which helped prevent a fire, but had this piece of equipment been packed in checked baggage, the outcome may have been very different.
Europe and other parts of the world never did join the shot from the hip first and ask questions later action by the US government and now stands vindicated that Doha, but also Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Istanbul have been removed from the (over-re)action list by the Americans.
Many countries in fact saw it at the time as a desperate measure when the attempt by the Trump regime to ban travelers from Muslim countries failed to stand up to court scrutiny to inflict as many obstacles as possible, however also hard hitting US business travelers to those parts of the world.
The lifting of the laptop and tablet ban on Qatar Airways flights from Doha to the US is immediate and in particular travelers from the Eastern African destinations like Entebbe, Kigali, Nairobi, Kilimanjaro, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar can now happily once again take their gadgets on board a QR flight when connecting in Doha to their final destination in the US.
