The controversial personal electronic devices (PED) ban on Middle East flights to the US is waning, as more carriers announce that restrictions are being lifted. The PED restriction is commonly known as the laptop ban.
Both Turkish Airlines and Emirates Airline on Wednesday announced, effective immediately, laptops and electronic devices could, once again, be taken aboard flights to the US.
For Turkish Airlines, this is valid for all US-bound flights from Istanbul Atatürk Airport, while on Emirates, this is valid for all US-bound flights from Dubai. CEO of Turkish Airlines, Bilal Eksi, also tweeted and said he expected the ban could be lifted on flights to the UK too.
A spokesperson for Emirates said the lifting of restrictions came after the introduction of heightened security measures.
“Emirates has been working hard in co-ordination with various aviation stakeholders and the local authorities to implement heightened security measures and protocols that meet the requirements of the US Department of Homeland Security’s new security guidelines for all US bound flights,” the spokesperson said.
This follows restrictions being lifted on all US flights from Abu Dhabi, home base of Etihad Airways, on Sunday.
All passengers travelling from these airports carrying electronic devices on board will be subject to additional security screening.
Saudia, the national carrier of Saudi Arabia, told the Saudi state news agency SPA on Tuesday that they too expected the ban on electronic devices on their flights to the US from Riyadh and Jeddah to be lifted by July 19.
David Lapan, press secretary for the DHS, said the department could not comment on which airlines would be considered to have their PED restriction revoked. He said Saudia was still operating under the PED restriction.
“Turkish Airlines and Emirates Airline have initiated the process for lifting the PED ban by alerting TSA that they are ready to comply with the enhanced security measures. Today, TSA is scheduled to visit Turkish Airlines and Emirates Airline to verify that the measures have been implemented correctly and to the full extent required,” he said.
