A new ban by the US government will now restrict passengers from carrying devices larger than a cellphone in their cabin luggage in flights coming from Middle Eastern countries. The latest ban in a series of bans seemingly targeting a particular section of the world’s population affects many international students at Clark directly. As someone living on the other end of the globe, I have no option but to fly one of the many airlines that this ban will be inflicted upon. Most people flying to Asia choose either Emirates, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Etihad or Kuwait Airways. For some of us, these are the only flights that go directly to our countries.
No one knows for certain what the reasoning behind this arbitrary ban is, unless it’s viewed as a protectionist measure against foreign airlines. According to a report by the Economist, in 2016 the TSA failed to detect hidden weapons in 67 out of 70 cases of secret agents trying to smuggle them past security checkpoints. Maybe they have decided to be done with the whole searching for hidden weapons things altogether by pushing this blanket ban. If it is indeed true that new weapons are being developed that can be hidden in batteries, then I will not rest assured knowing that they are going off in the luggage compartment, out of sight and out of mind. The reasoning that it is only nationals from a handful of countries who are capable of these attacks is also discriminatory, to say the least. There are many things to get angry about, but instead, I will choose to write down some tips on travelling without tablets and laptops.
Plastic wrap your suitcase as though it’s the King Ramses of luggage – With the knowledge that people’s checked luggage will be crammed with expensive laptops, tablets and cameras, luggage thefts will likely increase. Those tiny locks that most people choose to put on their bags can be broken with almost no effort. But if you use those plastic wrapping services at airports and make it annoyingly time consuming to cut through to your bag, potential thieves may leave your suitcase alone. Yours doesn’t have to be the best protected, it simply has to be better protected. Some alternative hacks: paste a smiling picture of an incompetent politician of your choice on your suitcase so that no one wants to touch it.
Protect your data – Security experts have raised fears that border agents will take this opportunity to illegally search people’s devices for sensitive data. To protect your data, you might want to use encryption. Or if you are a wee undergrad like me who is not doing any earth shattering research, you might want to put in some journal articles on why ‘security measures’ like this are largely ineffective and proof that climate change is real.
Set up your own startup – Take the knowledge that there will be quite a few broken devices and do with it what you want. You can start a company that makes custom unbreakable packaging for using graphene straight out of your dorm room, or you can run a sketchy deal on Ebay selling broken laptops for parts.
Learn to never procrastinate again – If you’re the kind of person who always finds themselves booking tickets before your final project, essay or take home is due, use this ban as an opportunity to finish your work on time, since you cannot use your layover time to hastily put those finishing touches on your final assignment. Now when you get to take a long nap on those lounge chairs in Dubai instead, thank the US government.
