COMMENTS: Dubai readers react to the laptop ban

*Please note that the views below are from individual readers and do not necessarily represent opinions of ShortList.

“Great when the luggage guys throw your suitcase around and your devices get smashed, cracked and damaged will that be covered on travel insurance?”
Zoe on Facebook

“It’s no different than having to put your liquids and gels in a small, clear plastic bag when traveling out of the UK. Does it make sense? Not really. But it’s something that they think helps protect you, me and everyone else in the sky. And it’s not a ban, no one is saying you can’t bring laptops into the country, they just have to be in the hold. There have been various restrictions on large electronic items in place since 9/11 that are ever changing. And if you connect through Europe there’s an extra layer of security before you connect onwards. I’m not saying I necessarily agree with it because I think the security out of airports like DXB is extremely good. I just don’t see any connection between you having to forfeit you laptop for 13 hours and one’s religion. And it’s not an executive order by Trump. It’s a policy brought forward from the CIA, Dept. of Homeland Security and the FAA. You can speculate all you and get upset and shake your fists. But at the end of the day the facts are facts and that’s how it is.”
Colin on Facebook

“USA and British airways are losing lots of money from Middle East because people prefer to travel on Qatar, Etihad and Emirates airlines which are in top 5 best airlines they just want to annoy passengers.”
Adil on Facebook

“Perhaps this is based on specific intelligence! Imagine that hey!”
Amy on Facebook

“If you want to generalise then US should be on top of the list and US citizens should be banned to travel Asian countries with the amount of violence reported every day. UAE is much safer place than US.”
Mohammed on Facebook

“Makes no sense to me… I have flown in and out of 7 of those 10 airports and my hand baggage was subjected to as much if not more scrutiny than the time I flew in and out of Chicago in December. It’s just the usual Trump tactic of trying to support his ridiculous narrative with meaningless actions…got to keep the ‘bad people’ out… pathetic.”
Bill on Facebook

“Unfortunately not very smart and a BIG security risk! Most laptop have batteries that can over heat and catch fire. I the cabin this can be monitored when overheated and then isolated. Then the laptop with batteries can be placed in a “fire sock”. In the cargo compartment if it overheats it will catch fire to everything in that cargo compartment, even if the compartment is isolated and sprayed with fire retardant. Accident will follow!”
Hakan on Facebook

“And now the U.K. has enacted the same policy. You all should be embarrassed to post such stupid opinions. Here’s a news flash: your Netflix is less important than my family’s safety. “
Todd on Facebook

“It just gets more ridiculous by the day.”
Claire on Facebook

“Oh too bad you can’t bring your laptop, iPad or some other electronic item into the cabin…. oh the hysteria! You just might have to communicate with your fellow passengers or even acknowledge the cabin crew when they ask what you would like to drink instead of saying ‘chicken’.”
Steven on Facebook

“What y’all don’t realise is that is probably a small way to make people choose to not fly government supported airlines which is hurting the airline industry across the board in the US. These airlines are able to fly routes year round that lose money yet they still maintain the route thanks to government subsidies. He is probably trying to find a way to help the US airline companies fight government subsidies. You all need to think about other things then immediately and what could be the reason behind this.”
Chase on Facebook

“It’s nonsense. First, you usually cannot send batteries in the baggage cause [it’s] dangerous since batteries can explode. How do they plan to avoid this much more realistic danger? Second, apparently the ban is not applied to US airlines but only to foreign ones… but the security controls are not airline specific. The security control if you take an American Airlines or a Delta are conducted in the same way and the same people as if you fly with a local airline. Last… if the notebook is a bomb… what is the difference between putting it in the cabin or in the cargo space? We are not talking of liquids that need to be mixed manually to explode. A pc-bomb can easily be exploded by an automatic electronic trigger.”
Maurizio on Facebook