Following yesterday’s announcement by the Government that new restrictions on certain electronic devices in hand luggage are to be introduced this week for passengers travelling to the UK from affected countries, we have compiled below some web links containing information on the new rules which may affect students travelling over the Easter period.

Affected routes & details about the electronic items covered by the additional security measures

 If you would like to find out if the new rules affect you on your planned travel route, the GOV.UK advice for passengers offers useful information about the countries affected and the types of electronic devices affected by the new measures.

Please note that the additional security restrictions apply to passengers who have a connecting flight into the UK from one of the listed countries too.

When the new measures take effect:

For further clarification, we recommend that you check the website of your airline for specific information and guidance.

According to a recent BBC News article, a Department for Transport spokeswoman advised that passengers “should go to the airport with the expectation that the measures are already in effect".

Information for affected passengers:

We are aware that a number of students may be affected by this restriction and we are currently working with the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) to make this restriction more widely known to our students and to offer further practical guidance.

Current advice to passengers may be found in a news story on the Department for Transport website.

In addition to this, affected passengers may find it advisable to check whether their travel or home insurance policy covers valuables placed in hold luggage (checked luggage).

Advice for Warwick students:

We understand that these new security measures may raise concerns for some students travelling to the UK with laptops storing course-related documents or work.

We would strongly advise that you make back-ups of all important files and documents on an external storage device or USB memory stick prior to travelling, as well as utilising online (cloud) storage solutions.

Our ITS service at the Unviersity have also advised that they provide backup storage solutions for 1GB to all students in the first instance, which can be increased to 5G upon request, via Myfiles web and Myfiles WebDAV. Files stored there are secure and easily accessible. Please visit the ITS webpage on data storage for more information.

Other options could include emailing important documents to yourself, or utilising other online storage solutions widely available to the public; however please note that our ITS service will be unable to recover any content should any problem arise.

If you have any further concerns regarding essential files for your examinations or assessments, we recommend that you check your department’s website or your handbook in the first instance. If you have any further queries, we recommend that you contact your department directly.