Latest Travel News: US Ban On Plane Cabin Electronics Mocked

Flying can be pretty boring, especially if you can’t bring a laptop, tablet, e-reader or any other electronic devices bigger than a cellphone into the passenger cabin as the latest edict from the Department of Homeland Security for flights involving 10 Middle Eastern and North African airports demands.

So Royal Jordanian Airlines, one of the carriers impacted by the order, which takes effect early Friday, has a few suggestions for passengers traveling from Amman to Chicago, Detroit and New York, including “appreciate the miracle of flight,” “pretend tray table is a keyboard” and “analyze the meaning of life.”

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The airline also suggested passengers do “what we Jordanians do best: Stare at each other!”

Read: Credible Terror Threats Cited In Airplane Electronics Ban

Royal Jordanian took a swipe at President Donald Trump’s travel ban against six Muslim-majority countries (Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen), tweeting, “every week a new ban.”

Under the hashtag #electronicban, Royal Jordanian promised Thursday’s tweets were just the beginning and more mocking was in the offing.

Read: America Less Safe During Trump Administration?

DHS issued a notice Tuesday banning laptops, tablets, e-readers, cameras, portable DVD players, travel printers/scanners and “electronic game units larger than a smartphone” from the passenger cabin on flights headed to and from the United States involving 10 airports in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. It gave airlines 96 hours to comply. Cellphones and medical devices are exempt from the ban.

The British government issued a similar order for flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Tunisia.

The Economist reported the ban stems a shift in the balance of power among international carriers. Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways have become what the Economist described as “super-connectors,” that along with Turkish Airlines are dominating long-haul routes between Europe and Asia at the expense of legacy carriers.

Tuesday’s order grew out of last year’s laptop bombing of an airliner out of Mogadishu, Somalia, CBS reported. Intelligence agencies have concluded al Qaeda has developed a method of hiding explosives in batteries the size of those used in laptops and tablets, CBS said.

People tweeted their unhappiness with the ban.

The Hill reported Royal Jordanian has mocked Trump in the past. Before the election, the airline urged passengers to book flights “while you’re still allowed to,” a swipe at Trump’s rhetoric regarding Muslims.