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US forbids any device larger than cellphone on airlines from 13 countries

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numble

Member
gutterboy44 said:
Right, but by moving them from carry on to checked, you can change the optics of it. There is a big difference of someone being told, give us your laptop, handing it over and having it searched then agents doing it behind closed doors for every single person. Nothing else makes sense. The restriction criteria is so arbitrary and doesn't make a lick of sense in terms of security. Your carry on is inspected already.
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If you want to follow that logic, you should just keep it in your bag and make them have you check it at the gate, or check in right at the cut-off time. Unless there are over 50 US intelligence officers that will be on hand to ride all of the 50 flights per day to inspect the devices during the flight, it seems a bit far-fetched. They also need to have infiltrated these foreign airports to be able to search luggage without catching anyone's attention.
 
ultrazilla

ultrazilla

Gold Member
Ogodei said:
Must have gotten wind of something specific.
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This. There's no doubt they received credible intel about "something"(they can't say what specifically as it could blow someone's cover) and are acting on it to prevent a potential terror plot/act. I have zero problems with this.
 
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Gallbaro

Banned
I have been on a few flights from foreign airports with really of security, and I think most of our security is theater.

In fact over US territory, I have seen a pilot go to the bathroom, leaving the cockpit door open, with only a single pilot in the cockpit, and no flight attendant blocking the door.
 
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immortal-joe

Member
numble said:
Can you name their direct flights from these countries to the US? I really did not think they had any such flights.
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Not direct that I know of, but they get to bypass the law entirely because they stop in London, Amsterdam, etc. Emirates has to stop in Dubai, so it ends up forcing its passengers to abide by this law.

So when you fly from GCC countries, who are huge travelers, their local airlines start to look a lot less attractive.

I know I'm drifting into conspiracy here, but there's not denying that non-Arab airlines operating in the countries affected are winning here.
 
F

Flo_Evans

Member
numble said:
If you want to follow that logic, you should just keep it in your bag and make them have you check it at the gate, or check in right at the cut-off time. Unless there are over 50 US intelligence officers that will be on hand to ride all of the 50 flights per day to inspect the devices during the flight, it seems a bit far-fetched. They also need to have infiltrated these foreign airports to be able to search luggage without catching anyone's attention.
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They wouldn't be in the foreign airports they would just intercept it when you land.

So if its a direct flight from a muslim country all the laptops will be in cargo and they can do whatever while you wait for your bag at the carousel.
 
ultrazilla

ultrazilla

Gold Member
Gallbaro said:
I have been on a few flights from foreign airports with really of security, and I think most of our security is theater.

In fact over US territory, I have seen a pilot go to the bathroom, leaving the cockpit door open, with only a single pilot in the cockpit, and no flight attendant blocking the door.
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Just as there seemed to be "tests" after Air Marshals were put on most domestic flights after 9/11 where individuals would stand up and scream for law enforcement, yell "Air Marshal" or something "provocative" to draw the Air Marshal out of cover, you can be sure our side does certain calculated things to "draw out" potential threats on a flight.
 
F

fredrancour

Member
Is there an end-date attached to this? cause i feel like this would only be useful in any capacity to stop a threat in the immediate future. anybody already on a watch list who re-routes already-scheduled travel might make themselves suspicious and justify a further look, but once some time has passed, travel can just be scheduled around this anyway and this boils down to a law that doesn't really accomplish anything but expressing distrust for muslim nations. I'm 50/50 on whether this is some elaborate ruse to catch a specific threat as somebody panics and changes travel plans conspicuously or is just anti-muslim posturing.


RedNalgene said:
Wait a sec here. So foreign airlines are part of this ban but US ones aren't, even if they originate from the same airport? But everyone goes through the same airport security, not the airline's security. So how does that make a difference?

Also, I've been through airports on 6 continents, and no offense to Brazil at all, but I didn't even go through a functioning metal detector in Rio. I just walked through a metal detector gate that was actually off at the time, put my bag on a scanner that wasn't manned by anyone, picked up my bags on the other side, and walked onto the plane. So what is stopping a terrorist from flying to Brazil and then on to the US?

I....I just don't understand.
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you're thinking in terms of this as a law designed to catch terrorists. As long as we have someone like bannon as an advisor to the president, keep in mind that any regulations affecting countries that aren't predominantly white may just have the goal of treating brown people badly.
 
F

FyreWulff

Member
ultrazilla said:
Just as there seemed to be "tests" after Air Marshals were put on most domestic flights after 9/11 where individuals would stand up and scream for law enforcement, yell "Air Marshal" or something "provocative" to draw the Air Marshal out of cover, you can be sure our side does certain calculated things to "draw out" potential threats on a flight.
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You should read up on how many dry runs run by law enforcement get through airport security, It's absolutely theater.

9/11 is never happening again, and it already stopped happening on 9/11 when Flight 93 was the only flight that had a chance to know what was happening and fought back before the pilots could make it to their target. If you try to hijack a plane, the passengers are going to kill you. It was an exploit of an old expectation of hijacked flights being used for random or political statements.
 
G

gutterboy44

Member
ultrazilla said:
This. There's no doubt they received credible intel about "something"(they can't say what specifically as it could blow someone's cover) and are acting on it to prevent a potential terror plot/act. I have zero problems with this.
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Any electronic device is already individually x rayed when part of carry on. If you want to stop bombs, just putting them into cargo bay is not an acceptable restriction. The nations this targets also wouldn't really stop that threat thoroughly enough. This would have to be a total ban on those devices as part of carry on if it was that serious of a threat. This is a fuck you tantrum move or some more nefarious shit. This isn't making anyone safer.
 
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immortal-joe

Member
To look at it from the terror-defense angle:

There have been security concerns in the past about the effectiveness of the security checkpoints in the airports of some countries, including some in the GCC, from an American perspective.

I just never new airports like Dubai International were ever thought to be in such a group.

This sucks :(
 
P

Pixieking

Banned
womfalcs3 said:
I'm traveling from Dubai to Miami through London. Am I affected?
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Currently, god knows... From the Guardian article I posted on the first page:

US authorities have secretly required airlines from eight nations to forbid passengers from carrying any electronic or electrical device larger than a cellphone.

Saudi Arabia's Saudia Airlines and Royal Jordanian airlines are among the affected countries; the full list had not been revealed to the affected airlines themselves until a press briefing by the US department of Homeland Security on Monday evening.

The ban is technically related to ten airports in eight countries:
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The article doesn't go into why there's a contradiction between airlines and airports, or why it's "technically related to ten airports". Which is another reason why the Guardian is just wank nowadays.

Edit: WaPo article.

U.S. bans laptops, other devices as carry-on from 10 airports in Muslim-majority nations

Under the restrictions, travelers to the United States from 10 mostly Middle Eastern airports will be required to put all personal electronic devices larger than a cellphone or smartphone in their checked baggage. U.S. airlines are not affected by the ban because none offer direct U.S.-bound flights from the affected airports.

Ten airports in eight countries — Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — are affected. Officials said the airports were selected based on the ”current threat picture."
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Can we update OP and thread title please?
 
M

Meadows

Banned
Hmm, if the UK is doing it too that would indicate that there's a specific threat related to this from either ISIS/AQAP
 
M

MikeHattsu

Member
Bright-Light said:
Not much in that bbc article yet, but it has just been updated to say:
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Another update:
BBC home affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford said the UK move was "obviously part of coordinated action with the US".

The attempted downing of an airliner in Somalia was linked to a laptop device and it appears the security precautions are an attempt to stop similar incidents, our correspondent added.
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Dougald said:
Dangit, I'm flying out of Heathrow this week. Hopefully won't affect my flight.
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Well, should expect more queues at the very least.
 
R

RipperGrim

Member
Still find the absolute control of what you are allowed to bring onto a plane crazy in America when at the same time guns are hardly controlled at all.
 
D

distantmantra

Member
We're flying through Amsterdam on the way to Morocco this Summer. I know my kid not being able to potentially use her iPad isn't a big deal considering the larger implications of back door Muslim bans, but my kid will be pissed if the Netherlands follows suit and she can't use her iPad on the flight.
 
R

RipperGrim

Member
FrankCanada97 said:
When changes occur in aviation it's usually in response to something happening.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Southwest_Airlines_Flight_1771
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Well yea because that makes sense but when some crazy dude gets a gun and shoots up a school what is done? Hell it's recently been made easier for people with mental issues to get a gun there. There's some very flawed logic going into the way people are handling threats when Laptops are being monitored more than guns and who's buying them.
 
L

LyleLanley

Banned
RipperGrim said:
Well yea because that makes sense but when some crazy dude gets a gun and shoots up a school what is done? Hell it's recently been made easier for people with mental issues to get a gun there. There's some very flawed logic going into the way people are handling threats when Laptops are being monitored more than guns and who's buying them.
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These seem to be two unrelated issues.
 
S

SKINNER!

Banned
Pixieking said:
Fuck off! We're going to be flying back to the UK in July with about 2 grands worth of electronics, including a gaming laptop. I'm definitely going to look at specific travel insurance for the flight.
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hahaha oh dear. Good luck with that! You know you can still take them with you via checked baggage right? Because we ALL KNOW that airline baggage handlers will take good care of your luggage.
 
K

KingSnake

The Birthday Skeleton
If this ban will be extended to many airlines then there should be in place some kind of special handling of the electronic devices.
 
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