Turkish Airlines CEO criticizes UK laptop ban after ambassador’s congratulatory tweet on baby born mid-air

ISTANBUL

The Turkish Airlines CEO has criticized the British ambassador to Ankara over the U.K.’s ban on carrying electronic devices inflight from airports in Turkey following the envoy’s congratulatory tweet on a baby who was born mid-air onboard the flagship carrier.

A French-Guinean woman, Diaby Nafi, gave birth to a healthy baby girl during a Turkish Airlines flight from Conakry, Guinea, en route to Istanbul with a stop in Ougadougou, Burkina Faso, on April 7.       

British Ambassador to Ankara Richard Moore shared a report on the baby’s birth on his Twitter account, congratulating Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Ekşi on the crew’s effort.

However, Ekşi criticized the laptop ban on flights from Turkey.

“Mr. Ambassador, thanks a lot for your message. Our crew is providing all kinds of help to our passengers at 42,000 feet. They only cannot give their laptops,” Ekşi responded to Moore.

@UKAmbRichard Sn. Büyükelçi, mesajınıza çok teşekkür ederim. 42.000ft'de yolcularımıza ekibimiz her türlü yardımı gösteriyor.Sadece laptoplarını veremiyor

— Bilal EKŞİ (@BilalEksiTHY) 9 Nisan 2017

The ambassador later replied to Ekşi saying that the measure was only aimed at passenger safety.

“Right, it is a disturbing thing but providing the safety of passengers is our only aim. Thank you for your cooperation regarding this tough issue,” Moore tweeted in Turkish.

@BilalEksiTHY Doğru, Genel Müdürüm. Rahatsız edici bir şey. Fakat yolcuların güveni tutmak tek hedefimiz. Bu zor konuda işbirliğiniz için teşekkür ederiz.

— Richard Moore (@UKAmbRichard) 9 Nisan 2017

The U.S. and the U.K. had introduced bans on electronic devices as carry-ons in flights coming from a number of countries, including Turkey.