Laptop ban aims to hinder business as Turkish Airlines flies high: Minister

İstanbul, Mar 24 (DHA) –  New restrictions on in-cabin large electronic devices on flights from Turkey to the United States and Britain are aimed at stifling economic growth, Turkish Trade Minister Bülent Tüfenkci said on Thursday.
“We believe that the ban is not about security issues but commercial concerns, especially when we consider the recent development of Turkish Airlines,” he said.
“This ban is also an obstacle to the development of countries’ trade ties,” he said at an event in the eastern province of Malatya.
As such, Turkish authorities plan to take the issue to international civil aviation authorities.
The U.S. and Britain on Tuesday banned large electronic devices from the passenger cabin on flights from some airports in Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa.
Extremists plan to target planes with bombs in electronic devices, the U.S. warned on Tuesday, adding that it was duly banning passengers from carrying them in the cabin on flights from a number of airports, including Istanbul Atatürk Airport.
Nine airlines have been given until March 25 to ban any device bigger than a cellphone or smartphone from the cabin.
The British ban only involves six countries, two of which – Lebanon and Tunisia – do not feature on the U.S. list. Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar and United Arab Emirates are on the U.S. list, but not the British one.
Turkey’s transport minister, Ahmet Arslan, said on Thursday that Ankara would take the ban to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
ICAO, an agency of the United Nations, said on Wednesday it was for each country to decide whether to take security measures.
It said in a statement it supported “global uniformity” in regulations in order to facilitate international travel.
Turkey in talks with US, UK
Turkey is in talks with the U.S. and Britain to exclude Turkish Airlines and Istanbul’s main Atatürk airport from the ban, a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Thursday.
“Instead of punishing ordinary passengers, measures targeting those who pose threats will always be more effective. Our attempts to keep Turkish Airlines and Atatürk Airport, which is one of the most secure airports in the world, out of this will continue,” Hüseyin Müftüoğlu said at a press briefing.
These initiatives are being carried out not only with U.S. but also U.K. authorities, he added.
Shares in Turkish Airlines, budget airline Pegasus and airport operator TAV fell on Wednesday after the ban was announced.
In the upcoming days, the ban could deal a blow to the big, fast-growing Gulf airlines and Turkish Airlines, which depend on business-class flyers stopping over in places like Dubai or Doha or Istanbul for far-flung destinations, according to experts.
U.S. airlines do not have direct flights from the airports affected by its new restrictions.
Business travelers paying top prices for flat beds and other perks may balk at stowing their laptops on long trips.
According to the Washington-based Global Business Travel Association, around 49 percent of business travelers prefer to stay connected and get work done while flying. GBTA added that many companies advise staff travelling on business to keep their devices close because they may contain sensitive information.