New absurd airport rule: uncharged electronics cannot be brought on-board

The United State Transport Security Administration has issued new rules that prevent passengers from bringing uncharged electronics onboard flights to the U.S. from Heathrow and Manchester airports. Travelers discovered to be carrying devices that cannot power-on risk being forced to rebook a new flight.

The TSA hasn’t officially declared whether the protocols correlate to the “credible terrorist threat” from earlier this month, although analysts speculate that the rules sprung up just as Islamic militants in Syria and Yemen threatened to build bombs that will evade airport security checks. 

Passengers will be reminded upon check-in that they can either unpack chargers from the luggage to top off electronics, or place said electronics into the luggage to avoid any unnecessary complications altogether. If they are caught at Heathrow’s security gate or boarding gate with a powerless device, then they will be directed to a nearby charging station, assuming they have a charger with them. 

If this option is unavailable to the traveler, he or she can opt to ship the banned items separately ─ or store them for 42 days ─ through a third-party service such as Bagport, based out of Heathrow’s security control. But if the traveler rejects all of these options, it will ultimately fall onto the airline to decide what to do with the device.
British Airways cautions travelers that newly purchased electronics from airport gift shops are also subject to this regulation; according it its website: “If your device doesn't power up when you are requested to do so, you will not be allowed to fly to the US on your original service. Our customer services team will look after the rebooking of your travel arrangements.” Absurdly enough, this same rule also applies to customers transferring at Heathrow or Manchester Airport.

TSA predicts that smartphones, tablets, cameras, and electronic shavers will be the most commonly affected devices by this rule, but the growing number of Internet-connected devices ensures the inconvenience factor will drastically increase. Expect a massive delay in flight time from these locations. And as always the case with these things, it’s only a matter of time before the regulation is enforced everywhere. 

Via BBC