The Australian Government has announced additional security measures for passengers carrying tech on their flights from certain Middle Eastern airports into Australia.
At this stage only Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Doha will see the introduction of randomly selected electronic device and explosive screening. The checks will be carried out by security staff at these airports and will affect flights with Qantas, Virgin Australia, Emirates, and Qatar Airways. Similar checks have recently been put in place for flights to the UK from the Middle East.
Federal Minister for Transport, Darren Chester, says the changes are being made so that passengers can travel “in the knowledge that every precaution is being taken to ensure they arrive at their destinations safely.”
Impact
The heightened security measures follow similar bans on UK- and US-bound flights from Middle Eastern countries, in which electronics larger than a smartphone are not allowed in the cabin. On this matter, Chester has stated that the in-cabin device ban won’t be implemented for Australian-bound flights “at this stage”.
Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Doha are three of the busiest airports in the Middle East and are frequently used for changeovers for other destinations, so the new measures are sure to make already-tedious wait times even longer.
