Home secretary Amber Rudd has refused to rule out a total ban on laptops carried in hand luggage on all UK-bound flights.
Last week, the UK banned passengers on flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia from carrying an electronic device larger than a mobile phone in their hand luggage.
And Rudd hinted the ban could be extended to more countries when she was questioned on the subject by BBC’s Andrew Marr.
Asked whether there could eventually be a total ban on taking laptops in hand luggage, Rudd said: “It’s difficult to say how far this will go, whether we may at some stage arrive at that place.
“At the moment the government has made the decision about where to have that ban in place based on the intelligence we’ve received,” she said.
The ban has been questioned by many in the business travel industry but the government insists it’s acting on security intelligence. "Decisions to make changes to our aviation security regime are never taken lightly,” a spokesperson said.
"We will not hesitate to act in order to maintain the safety of the travelling public and we will work closely with our international partners to minimise any disruption these new measures may cause."
Emirates has introduced a laptop and tablet handling service as it looks to minimise the impact of the ban introduced by the US and UK.
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