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28 March 2024

Turkish Airlines offers laptops on UK-bound flights

Pic: WAM

Published
By WAM

Turkish Airlines began on Friday to offer laptop computers to business-class passengers on UK-bound flights from Istanbul Ataturk Airport, according to the state-run news agency, Anadolu.

The service was made available to passengers on a Manchester-bound flight early on Friday.

The agency said that Business-class passengers can hand over their laptops to a Turkish Airlines employee and request a computer from the cabin crew to use in-flight.

The move is an attempt to deal with a US and British ban on in-cabin laptop use on flights departing from several airports in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey. Turkey's flag-carrier previously introduced a similar service for US-bound customers, added Anadolu.

Britain introduced the security measures on March 21st to cover tablets, laptops and some cellphones, echoing the US Department of Homeland Security.

Turkish Airlines' dual-functionality devices can be used as both a laptop and a touchscreen tablet. Passengers will be able to save their personal information on a USB memory stick, as all personal data will be deleted after the device is shut down to protect users’ privacy, said Anadolu.

Friday’s move follows calls from the EU for urgent talks with the US over its policy amid media reports claiming the US is considering extending the technology restrictions, it added.