Turkish Airlines starts distributing laptops to UK-bound business class passengers after ban

ISTANBUL

Turkish Airlines began distributing laptops to its business-class passengers flying to the United Kingdom on May 12 following a ban preventing passengers from keeping large electronic devices in the cabin on flights from a number of Middle Eastern countries and Turkey to the country and the United States. 

The move comes six days after the flagship carrier first began distributing laptops to business-class passengers bound for the U.S. 

Laptops were handed to business class passengers during the Turkish Airlines Istanbul-Manchester flight that took off the Atatürk Airport in the early hours of the morning.

The company earlier stated that business-class passengers departing from Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport to the U.S. and the U.K. would be able to demand laptops during their flights after submitting electronic devices larger than mobile phones to airline staff.

The in-flight laptops have a touch-screen and a built-in security system to protect user privacy. 

All sessions on laptops will be automatically deleted when they are shut down.

“After using the computer, passengers can copy their data to an external storage unit (USB drive) if they wish, and all personal works of the passengers will be automatically and completely deleted from the computer when the computer is turned off,” Turkish Airlines stated.

The U.S. and U.K. recently banned electronic items larger than a mobile phone in aircraft cabins for flights coming from selected airports, including Istanbul Atatürk Airport. 

Turkish Airlines also began offering free Wi-Fi services on its U.S. flights in March.