The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, refused to discuss the 'intelligence information' that led the Transportation Security Administration to issue the order.īut one said that concerns had been 'heightened by several successful events and attacks on passenger lanes and airports over the last years.' 'The restrictions are in place due to evaluated intelligence and we think it's the right thing to do and the right places to do it to secure the safety of the traveling public,' one US official said. Passengers on approximately 50 flights per day from some of the busiest hubs in the Middle East, Turkey and North Africa will be obliged to follow the new emergency ruling. Laptops, tablets and portable game consoles are affected by the ban - which applies to direct flights to the United States - but they may still be stowed in the hold in checked baggage. Senior US officials told reporters that nine airlines from eight countries had been given 96 hours, beginning at 3:00 am (0700 GMT), to ban devices bigger than a cellphone or smartphone from the cabin. The United States warned Tuesday that extremists plan to target passenger jets with bombs hidden in electronic devices, and banned carrying them onto flights from 10 Middle East airports.