Tunisia protests laptops ban on UK,US flights cabin

Tunisia has expressed its concern following an announcement by the United Kingdom and the US of banning laptops and tablets in aircraft cabins on direct flights from Arab countries and Turkey.

Tunisia, which is among the countries covered by the British ban, said the directive will hurt its economy.

“This is something that we will raise with the Foreign Ministry,” Tunisia’s Tourism Minister Salma Elloumi said.

On Tuesday, the US and UK said the ban on electronic devices larger than a smartphone was being imposed as an anti-terrorist precaution.

Officials from Tunisia’s Federation of Travel Agencies said they feared the ban will hurt its tourism sector that has just started to recover following a spate of terrorist attacks that sent tourists fleeing.

“As long as England maintains these restrictions on Tunisia, and from time to time consolidates them with similar decisions, this will have a negative impact on Tunisian tourism,” Mohamed Ali Toumi, President of Tunisia’s Federation of Travel Agencies said.

The British ban that comes into force on Saturday, also targets Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.

Fourteen airline companies are required to comply with the directive, including British Airways and EasyJet.