Canada might follow the U.S. and U.K. with flight 'laptop ban'
Traveling to Western, English-speaking countries is getting more difficult by the hour for passengers from Muslim-majority nations.
According to reports, the Canadian government may follow the United States and the United Kingdom in banning certain electronic devices on flights departing from a number of airports in Muslim-majority countries.
The U.S. began enforcing the ban on Tuesday for flights to America from select airports in Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey, Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. The ban encompasses electronic devices larger than a smartphone, meaning laptops, e-readers, and more. The U.K. followed suit soon after, banning such devices on direct flights to the U.K. from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia and Egypt.
The U.S. announced the ban without alluding to any specific intelligence behind the decision. CNN later reported that an al-Qaeda affiliate was working toward packing explosives inside the batteries of electronic devices, while The New York Times reported the same thing about members of the Islamic State.
That bit of information was reportedly shared with Canadian Transportation Minister Marc Garneau, who said the nation will "act expeditiously." So far, that means talking with Canadian intelligence officials and intelligence officials from other countries to determine the potential danger behind the information provided by the U.S.
U.S. officials haven't said when the ban might be lifted, or whether the government has plans to do so.
Colin is Mashable's US & World Reporter. He previously interned at Foreign Policy magazine and The American Prospect. Colin is a graduate from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. When he's not at Mashable, you can most likely find him eating or playing some kind of sport.
