KOLKATA: India does not figure in the list of countries from which the Trump administration has banned electronic devices larger than smartphones in cabins of flights that head to the US. Nonetheless, it has been sucked into the ban ambit as thousands of US-bound travellers from the country fly through the airports named by the American administration.The problem is more acute for flyers from Kolkata , because unlike the other Indian metros, the city does not have direct flights to the US or Europe.Such is the confusion among flyers booked on Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways that fly through Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, that many travellers are re-routing their journeys to Europe and the US to avoid transiting the Gulf reg-ion in fear.An estimated 70% of the more than 6,250 passengers that fly on the three Gulf carri ers every week, travel onwards to another destination. Around 20% or 1,250 passengers from Kolkata travel to the US on these airlines. All of them are affected by the restriction.Several travel agents in the city said they had been besieged with calls from apprehensive passengers who wanted to cancel their tickets on the Gulf carriers for non-Gulf-airlines through another Indian metro city or via Singapore or Hong Kong. This has already led to a 10%-15% rise in US-bound fares on Indian carriers Air India and Jet Airways, European airlines like KLM, British Airways and Air France or through the east on Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific. According to Anil Punja bi, president of Travel Agents' Federation of India, the restriction, first by the US and then by the UK, has scared travellers."They feel that if intelligence agencies believe that terror outfits may explode a bomb on a plane that originates from the Gulf, they should avoid it altogether. Even elderly people travelling to their children living abroad want to avoid the flights. Though most of them don't carry the restricted items, there is fear of delay at airports in the Gulf," Punjabi said.Some, including company executives, have simply dropped their travel plan as they don't want to put their laptop containing vital information in the hold baggage that may arrive late if the baggage gets lost in transit or can even be pilfered."It is anyway a huge waste of time. One cannot travel for 15-17 hours without working or reading a book on the laptop. I think the business fraternity will look at alternative routes till the restriction is removed," said Ambarish Dasgupta, partner, head of management consulting, KPMG India. Incidentally , laptops and tablets are not typically covered by travel insurance policies for loss, damage or theft if placed in the hold.With Canada also considering the restriction, more travellers could get affected, though UK-bound travellers are mightily relieved that Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha are not on the Theresa May government list.Offices of Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways, the three carriers that carry a bulk of US-bound passengers from Kolkata in the absence of any direct international flight to Europe or the US, were bombarded with queries from flyers since early Wednesday .Airlines have instructed their staff at the airport check-in desk to identify USbound passengers and ask them to check their phablets, tablets, laptops, cameras and other large electronic devices into the registered baggage to avoid complication at Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha when they board the US-bound aircraft."There is a lot of confusion and apprehension among US-bound flyers via Gulf. Since the registered baggage gets through-checked directly to the airport in the US, passengers will get in trouble at Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha if they have not put laptop, tablets and cameras in the registered bags at Kolkata itself. These items will then be confiscated or the passenger will be denied boarding," an airline official said.With Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) that checks cabin bags yet to get any instruction from the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) on applying the restriction on US-bound passengers, there is apprehension that many passengers may unknowingly get into trouble when the next leg of the journey begins."The onus of putting the restricted items in the registered luggage is entirely on passengers. We don't have the mandate to stop anyone from carrying a laptop or any other electronic device in the cabin. In any case, we cannot apply two sets of rules while checking passengers of one flight," a CISF officer said.

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