In an ad featuring Jennifer Aniston, Emirates Airlines asks: ‘Who needs tablets and laptops anyway?’
Emirates Airlines, one of several foreign carriers affected by a new restriction on electronics on flights to the United States, is responding to the directive with the help of “Friends” actress Jennifer Aniston.
A security directive from the United States bars passengers from bringing any electronic device larger than a smartphone into the cabin on flights to the United States from 10 airports in eight Middle Eastern and African countries.
Laptops, digital tablets, DVD players and other large electronic devices must be checked into luggage that is stored in the cargo hold.
In an ad released this week, Emirates responded to the new restriction by showing Aniston playing games and watching movies on the airline’s seatback entertainment system.
“Who needs tablets and laptops anyway?” asks the message at the beginning of the ad. Later in the ad, after Aniston is shown using the backseat entertainment system on an Emirates flight, a message reads: “Over 2,500 channels of the latest movies, box sets, live sports and kids TV.”
The Department of Homeland Security declined to elaborate on why the new security restrictions were imposed on flights from Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Morocco.
At least one news report suggests that terrorists may have designed an explosive that can fit into a large electronic device, but must be triggered manually.
Emirates flies several direct routes from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to several U.S. cities, including New York and Los Angeles.
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