US, UK ban consumer gadgets on flights from several countries

Passengers flying to the U.S. from one of eight particular countries will not be able to bring most of their gadgets on the plane as carry-on items. Such is the nature of a temporary ban imposed by the U.S. government that took effect today; why the ban is in place hasn't been clearly stated. Statements from officials have been somewhat scattered, with one indicating that nine airlines are covered by this ban, and another indicating that ten airlines are covered.

It appears the ban officially went into effect at 3AM this morning, though that isn't entirely clear, either. News of the ban first surfaced via statements made by affected airlines in those aforementioned countries. The ban is said to cover most consumer tech items like tablets, laptops, and similar (but excluding phones), and to be in effect for non-stop flights coming from the following cities:

- Cairo in Egypt

- Amman in Jordan

- Kuwait City in Kuwait

- Casablanca in Morocco

- Doha in Qatar

- Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia

- Istanbul in Turkey

- Abu Dhabi/Dubai in the UAE

The same ban has also taken effect in the United Kingdom, and covers inbound flights from 14 different airlines in places like Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. The UK ban was formally announced only hours after the US ban, though it doesn't cover the same airlines. Interestingly enough, Canada's Transport Minister has also indicated that Canada may soon enact its own similar ban.

SOURCE: ABC News, BBC