The flight ban for laptops is a classic protectionist scheme

First they came for your nail scissors, then your liquids, and now they’re after your electronics. The news this week that the US has banned passengers from taking laptops as carry-on onto flights from ten Middle Eastern airports has sparked horror among the global jet-setting community, which only intensified when the British government promptly followed suit. Smartphones will be allowed, but from now on if you’re travelling from the Middle East you’ll have to make do with an old-fashioned book rather than a kindle, iPad or laptop.

We are told that this is for ‘security’ reasons. According to US media sources, the ban was sparked by intelligence suggesting Islamic State has been developing ways to hide explosives in laptops. Just as the response to the 2006 plot involving liquid explosives was to ban everyone from carrying shampoo and bottled water onto planes, so the reaction to this potential threat has been to remove any devices that might make a long-haul flight bearable.