Emirates seems to have found a loophole in Donald Trump’s latest travel ban, which prohibits US-bound passengers flying from or via airports in 10 Muslim-majority cities from taking electronics larger than a smart phone on board.
Essentially, holidaymakers flying from or via Cairo, Istanbul, Kuwait City, Doha, Casablanca, Amman, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi have to pack their iPads, laptops, cameras and DVD players in their check-in luggage and rely on inflight entertainment to stay occupied for the duration of their travels.
Soon after the announcement, Emirates released a cheeky video promoting its many inflight entertainment options in the hopes of easing passenger concerns. Watch it below:
Now the airline has gone a step further and found a way to ensure passengers have their preferred personal electronic devices with them for the first half of their journey when flying to the US via Dubai.
Here’s how it works:
Passengers on US-bound flights via Dubai will take their laptops and iPads in their carry-on as per usual for the first part of their journey.
They’ll be able to use their devices throughout the entire first flight and also while in transit in Dubai.
When it comes to boarding the second service from Dubai to the US, they’ll be required to declare banned electronics to security staff at the gate.
Emirates has assured that the device will be carefully packed into boxes, loaded into the aircraft hold and returned to the customer at their US destination.
It sounds complicated, but it may just be worth the hassle for those deeply attached to their laptops and iPads, especially because it’s free of charge.
Meanwhile, passengers on US-bound flights starting their journeys in Dubai will still have to pack their electronic devices into their check-in luggage in the first instance, to avoid delays.
Emirates’ President Sir Tim Clark said the aim is to comply with new rules while “minimising disruption to passenger flow and impact on customer experience”.
The carrier is working to ensure that its operations comply with the latest restrictions on electronic devices in the cabin, for when the rules take effect on 25 March. Emirates said it will deploy extra staff at the airport to ease and assist passengers, especially in the first days of the new rules being implemented.