Airlines
flying directly from eight
countries in the Middle East and Africa to the U.S. must prevent passengers
from carrying almost all types of electronic devices in the cabin, according to
new security restrictions from the Trump administration.
Passengers
will have to check in any devices bigger than a smartphone -- including iPads,
Kindles and laptops -- before
clearing security or boarding, U.S. officials said, citing terrorism
concerns.
The
indefinite ban will affect more than 50 flights from 10 airports in the mainly
Muslim countries, including major hubs such as Dubai and Istanbul, according to
senior administration officials. The nine airlines affected were notified of
the procedures by the
Transportation Security Administration at 3 a.m. ET Tuesday and must comply
within 96 hours.
Top
international carriers -- like Emirates Airline, Qatar Airways and Turkish
Airlines -- are among those that will have to implement the ban.
The U.S.
officials said intelligence "indicates terrorist groups continue to target
commercial aviation" by "smuggling explosive devices in various
consumer items." The officials declined to provide specific information on
the threat or why these particular airports were selected.
"Just
evaluating all the intelligence, we believe that the threat is still prominent
against aircraft and airports," an official said.
U.S. airlines not affected
The 10
international airports covered by the ban are in Cairo, Egypt; Dubai and Abu
Dhabi, U.A.E.; Istanbul, Turkey; Doha, Qatar; Amman, Jordan; Kuwait City;
Casablanca, Morocco; and Jeddah and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The nine
airlines are Egyptair, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Kuwait Airways, Qatar
Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines and
Turkish Airlines.
The
officials said U.S. carriers are not affected because none of them fly from the
airports in question to the U.S.
The ban
involves some of the widest reaching aviation security measures taken since the
terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
It means
all laptops, cameras, tablets, e-readers, portable DVD players, electronic
gaming devices and travel printers or scanners will have to be kept in the
cargo hold for the duration of the flight. Medical devices needed on board are
still allowed.
Concerns over airport
screening
If the
airlines don't comply with the order within the 96 hour time frame, "we
will work with the FAA to pull their certificate and they will not be allowed
to fly to the United States," one senior U.S. official said.
Another
official, speaking separately from the senior administration officials, said there's no specific plot
authorities are aware of, but the U.S. has been considering such a ban for some
time.
The
official said the move is partly based on intelligence that they believe
indicates Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is close to being able to hide
explosives with little or no metal content in electronic devices in order to
target commercial aircraft.
It's a
particular concern at these airports because of screening issues and the
possibility of terrorists infiltrating authorized airport personnel, the
official said. Flight and cabin crews are not covered by these new
restrictions.
In
February 2016, a bomb hidden inside a laptop detonated aboard a Daallo Airlines
flight out of Mogadishu, Somalia. The bomber was killed and a hole was blown in
the side of the fuselage. The aircraft landed safely.
Global hubs affected
The new
ban affects some of the largest airlines at the busiest hubs in the world:
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