Barely 24 hours after playing down the US ban on onboard electronics with its who needs tablets and laptops anyway advert, Emirates has introduced a new free service to enable its customers cope.

According to the airline, the new service will enable customers to use their laptops and tablet devices until just before they board their flights to the United States.

Passengers must then declare and hand over their laptops, tablets, and other banned electronic devices to security staff at the gate just before boarding their US-bound flight.

The devices will be carefully packed into boxes, loaded into the aircraft hold, and returned to the customer at their US destination. There will not be any charge for this service.

The airline has advised passengers on US-bound flights originating in Dubai to pack their electronic devices into their check-in luggage in the first instance, to avoid delays.

The US on Tuesday, announced ban on carrying large electronic devices onboard passenger flights from eight countries in the Middle East and Africa including Dubai.

From 25 March, 2017, travellers on direct flights to the US from any of the affected countries will not be allowed to carry any electronic device larger than a cell phone or smartphone into the aircraft cabin.