Canada weighs banning on-flight electronics

OTTAWA: Canada is considering prohibiting personal electronics onboard flights from Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa after both the US and Britain announced bans, the transportation minister said on Tuesday.

“We are looking at the information that has been presented to us, we’ll look at it carefully and have a fulsome discussion amongst our colleagues,” Minister Marc Garneau told reporters.

“The (threat) information,” he said, “has been provided to us by other intelligence communities.”

READ MORE: US bans electronic devices on flights from 10 countries

The three countries routinely share intelligence, including on terrorism threats, as part of the Five Eyes intelligence gathering alliance.

Garneau said he would discuss this latest possible threat to airlines with Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale and “we’ll make that public when we make a decision.”

ALSO READ: UK issues laptop, tablet flight ban after US warning

The United States earlier banned laptops and tables in airplane cabins on flights from airports in eight countries, warning that extremists planned to target planes with bombs in electronic devices.

The US ban includes any device bigger than a smartphone, including laptops, tablets and portable game consoles.