The US is set to ban large electronic devices such as laptops and cameras in the cabin on flights from eight Middle Eastern countries, according to two airlines in the region and media reports.
A tweet from Saudi Airlines and one – subsequently deleted – by Royal Jordanian airlines on Monday informed their customers of an imminent cabin ban on electronic devices larger than a mobile phone.
Royal Jordanian said all such devices – including laptops, tablets, cameras, DVD players and electronic games – would need to be checked in under new US government rules coming into force on Tuesday.
Only mobile phones and medical devices needed in flight would be excluded from the ban, it said. The tweet was later removed amid suggestions the airline had released the information prematurely.
An official announcement from the US Department of Homeland Security was expected.
US officials speaking on condition of anonymity said the ban was to be implemented in response to an unspecified threat the US government learned of several weeks ago.
The move comes a week after President Donald Trump’s second bid to curb travel from a group of Muslim-majority nations was blocked by the courts.(Al Jazeera)
Link: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/electronics-flights-middle-east-170320232426035.html
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