Britain on Friday lifted a ban on passengers carrying electronic devices in the cabin on some flights to the UK from Turkey after new security measures were introduced, saying other restrictions would be looked at on a case by case basis.
Britain joined the United States in imposing restrictions on carry-on electronic devices on planes coming from certain countries in the Middle East and Africa in March, in response to unspecified security threats.
While the United States ended its ban earlier in July, Britain has kept the restrictions in place until now.
“Having looked carefully at the changes introduced in March, and working with our international partners and the industry on tough additional security measures, we can now lift the ban on electronic devices in the cabin on a small number of UK-bound flights,” Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said in a statement.
Passengers will now be allowed to carry laptops and tablets on Turkish Airlines flights from Istanbul’s Ataturk and Sabiha Gokcen airports, and Pegasus Airline flights from Sabiha Gokcen and Izmir, Britain’s Department for Transport said in a statement.
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Britain said that Sabiha Gokcen was the first airport to have restrictions completely lifted.
Yet existing bans on electronic devices on other flights from the Ataturk and Izmir airports and elsewhere in Turkey, as well as Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia, would be kept.
Britain said the other restrictions would be lifted once the government establishes that adequate security measures have been put in place.
“The remaining restrictions will be lifted only when we are satisfied it is safe and proportionate to do so,” Grayling said.