A CNN report revealed today that passengers who travel from certain regions of the Middle East and Africa will be barred from bringing laptops and other large electronics into the cabin as carry-on hand luggage.
Unnamed officials told CNN that the move was to “address a security concern involving passengers boarding non-stop flights to the United States from airports in specific countries.” The officials did not specify which countries from the middle east are affected, but it did say the ban would be in effect for a limited period of time and will apply to nonstop flights from eight countries in the Middle East and Africa.
Following the report, two Middle Eastern-based airlines, Saudi Airlines and Royal Jordanian confirmed and tweeted that passengers would not be allowed to bring laptops, Kindles, iPads and other electronics on flights heading to the U.S. However, shortly after, Royal Jordanian’s tweet was deleted (screenshot below). Other larger Middle Eastern carriers like Emirates have not yet made any statements on the ban.
There is certainly some confusion since Royal Jordanian took down their tweet. The Jordan-based carrier said that starting Tuesday it will only allow phones and medical devices to be carried in the cabin of its flights. All other electronics would be “strictly prohibited.” The airline cited “concerned U.S. departments” without offering additional explanation. The carrier said that laptops, tablets, DVD players and electronic games must be stored in checked baggage for its flights. They have also communicated to CNN that there will be further updates.
تنويه لضيوف #الخطوط_السعودية بشأن منع اصطحاب أجهزة الحواسيب المحمولة واللوحية داخل الطائرة على الرحلات المتجهة للولايات المتحدة الأمريكية pic.twitter.com/GSJ47hJgpU
— السعودية (@Saudi_Airlines) March 20, 2017
In a statement to USA Today, The TSA, which ensures that security meets U.S. standards at airports that send flights to the U.S., and the Department of Homeland Security each said: “We have no comment on potential security precautions, but will provide any update as appropriate.”
U.S. airlines will not be affected since none fly non-stop to any of the counties singled out in the directive, according to the CNN report.
Update:
The Independent has analysed the flight schedules from the Middle East and Africa and identified a dozen non-American airlines from the region that fly to the US and is thought to apply to nonstop flights to the US from 10 airports in eight countries which are believed to include Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Emirates Airlines has now confirmed the ban.
“Emirates can confirm that as per the new security directive issued by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), electronic devices larger than a cell phone/smart phone, excluding medical devices, cannot be carried in the cabin of the aircraft. The directive comes into effect on 25 March 2017 and is valid until 14 October 2017. It is applicable to all US-bound passengers from Dubai International Airport, whether originating or transiting through. Emirates requests that all passengers travelling to the US pack all electronic devices larger than a cell phone/smart phone in their checked-in baggage.”
The airports affected are Cairo International Airport (CAI) – Egypt, Queen Alia International Airport (AMM) – Jordan, Kuwait International Airport (KWI) – Kuwait, Mohammed V Airport (CMN) – Morocco, Hamad International Airport (DOH) – Qatar, King Abdul-Aziz International Airport (JED) – Saudi Arabia, King Khalid International Airport (RUH) – Saudi Arabia, Ataturk International Airport (IST) – Turkey, Dubai International Airport (DXB) – United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) – United Arab Emirates.
