Devices restricted on flights to US
Print Edition
THE Trump administration has imposed restrictions on carry-on electronic devices on planes coming to the United States from 10 airports in Muslim-majority countries in response to unspecified terrorism threats.
The Department of Homeland Security said passengers from those airports could not bring devices larger than a cellphone, such as tablets, portable DVD players, laptops and cameras, into the main cabin. Instead, they must be in checked baggage.
The restrictions were prompted by reports that militant groups want to smuggle explosive devices in electronic gadgets, officials told reporters. They did not provide further details on the threat.
The airports are in Cairo; Istanbul; Kuwait City; Doha, Qatar; Casablanca, Morocco; Amman, Jordan; Riyadh and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates.
Officials said the decision had nothing to do with President Donald Trump’s efforts to impose a travel ban on six majority-Muslim nations. DHS spokeswoman Gillian Christensen said the government “did not target specific nations. We relied upon evaluated intelligence to determine which airports were affected.”
On March 6, Trump signed a revised executive order barring citizens from Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from traveling to the US for 90 days. Two federal judges have halted parts of the ban, saying it discriminates against Muslims.
The airports affected by the electronics rules are served by nine airlines that fly directly to the US about 50 flights a day, senior government officials said.
The carriers — Royal Jordanian Airlines, Egypt Air, Turkish Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways — have until Friday to comply with the new policy, which took effect early yesterday.
The policy does not affect any American carriers because none fly directly to the US from the airports, officials said.
They did not explain why the restrictions only apply to travelers arriving in the US and not for the same flights when they leave. The rules apply to US citizens traveling on those flights, but not to crew members on those foreign carriers.
Homeland Security will allow passengers to use larger approved medical devices.
Angela Gittens, director general of airport association ACI World, likened the move to restrictions of liquids on planes, which she said also came suddenly, in response to a perceived threat, and caused some disruption.
Airlines will adjust to the electronics policy, she said. “The first few days of something like this are quite problematic, but just as with the liquids ban, it will start to sort itself out.”
The DHS said the procedures would “remain in place until the threat changes” and did not rule out expanding them to other airports.
The government said it was “concerned about terrorists’ ongoing interest in targeting commercial aviation, including transport hubs over the past two years.”
US officials told reporters that information gleaned from a US commando raid in January in Yemen that targeted al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula included bombmaking techniques.
AQAP, based in Yemen, has plotted to down US airliners and claimed responsibility for the 2015 attack on the office of Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris.
It also claimed responsibility for a failed attempt by a Nigerian Islamist to down an airliner over Detroit on Christmas Day in 2009.
In 2010, security officials in Britain and Dubai intercepted parcel bombs sent from Yemen to the US.
The DHS stepped up security of US-bound flights in July 2014, requiring tougher screening of mobile phones and other electronic devices and requiring them to be powered up before passengers could board flights to the US.
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