Laptop ban lifted
On 5 July Emirates Airline flights from Dubai Airport lifted the ban on carriage in the cabin of laptops for flights to the US.
The airline said it had been working hard in coordination with various aviation stakeholders and local authorities to implement heightened security measures and protocols that meet the requirements of the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) new security guidelines for all US-bound flights.
The DHS announced the introduction of enhanced aviation security measures for all international flights operating into the United States, citing continuing terrorist threats.
The new security measures affect 105 countries, 280 airports, 180 airlines, 2100 daily flights and an average of 325,000 daily passengers.
The original ban implemented with little notice on 21 March cost Emirates, Etihad, Qatar and other airlines millions of dollars as they quickly sought to introduce measures limiting the impact on passengers travelling on dozens of UAE-US flights.
However, on 28 June, Qatar Airlines and Turkish Airlines announced on 7 July that passengers could once more carry their laptops aboard after US authorities approved the new security arrangements at Doha’s Hamad International Airport and Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport.
The US issued new, broader security screening requirements for all international flights to the US and stated that the laptop ban would be lifted if airports in affected countries could demonstrate they had complied with the new security measures.
In a brief statement, Qatar Airways said that “with immediate effect, all personal electronic devices can be carried on board all departures from Hamad International Airport, Doha, to destinations in the United States”.
Turkish Airlines said that during the 102-day ban over 81,736 personal electronic devices carried by passengers were taken at the gates by staff and carried in overprotected baggage on 1,087 flights to the US.
About 75 percent of the devices were laptops and tablets, and 25 percent were cameras, GPS devices and Kindles.
The Laptop ban was then lifted on 9 July for Etihad Airways’ flights travelling to the US from Abu Dhabi International Airport. The ban had been particularly unusual for Etihad passengers, given they had already cleared US immigration and customs at Abu Dhabi Airport before boarding as part of a special agreement.
Saudi Airlines then followed with their two banned airports being cleared, and the other airports were to follow.
- Report by Paul Harrison.
More Articles
Current Issue
» Airport makes use of quiet time
» Airline returns to regions under level 2
» Auckland Is wreckage recovered
» Sweeping changes proposed
» AOA sensor grounds Cirrus jets