ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — US officials have confirmed that passengers flying into the United States from 10 Middle Eastern and North African airports may now resume bringing their larger electronic devices like laptops with them in airplanes’ cabins.
“There are no current Transportation Security Administration (TSA) restrictions on large personal electronic devices,” stated the US Department of Homeland security spokesman, David Lapan.
The ban originally applied to airports in Amman, Jordan; Cairo; Istanbul; Jidda and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia; Kuwait City; Casablanca, Morocco; Doha, Qatar; and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
The limitations were lifted after the Department of Homeland Security announced that the airlines and airports affected by the ban have all complied with the initial phase of new standards. Riyadh was the last of 10 airports to be exempted from the ban.
The United Kingdom followed suit during the spring. The Turkish Anadolu Agency reported on Thursday that an anonymous British source said Foreign Minister Boris Johnson and Sir Alan Duncan, a senior U.K. Foreign Office minister, had phoned Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu over the issue.
“The source said they told Cavusoglu the U.K. authorities had decided to lift the ban, adding that the process to lift the restrictions was ongoing,” AA reported.
The Kurdistan Region has two international airports — Sulaimani and Erbil. Without direct flights to the Americas, transatlantic travellers typically use connecting flights at one of the aforementioned airports.
The United States banned large electronic devices on flights from the 10 Muslim-majority countries in March over concerns that explosives could be hidden, instead requiring that travellers bound for the United States check laptops into their luggage.
“There are no current Transportation Security Administration (TSA) restrictions on large personal electronic devices,” stated the US Department of Homeland security spokesman, David Lapan.
Lapan confirmed the announcement on Thursday at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado that brings together governmental and private intelligence and security experts.
The ban originally applied to airports in Amman, Jordan; Cairo; Istanbul; Jidda and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia; Kuwait City; Casablanca, Morocco; Doha, Qatar; and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
The limitations were lifted after the Department of Homeland Security announced that the airlines and airports affected by the ban have all complied with the initial phase of new standards. Riyadh was the last of 10 airports to be exempted from the ban.
The United Kingdom followed suit during the spring. The Turkish Anadolu Agency reported on Thursday that an anonymous British source said Foreign Minister Boris Johnson and Sir Alan Duncan, a senior U.K. Foreign Office minister, had phoned Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu over the issue.
“The source said they told Cavusoglu the U.K. authorities had decided to lift the ban, adding that the process to lift the restrictions was ongoing,” AA reported.
The Kurdistan Region has two international airports — Sulaimani and Erbil. Without direct flights to the Americas, transatlantic travellers typically use connecting flights at one of the aforementioned airports.
The United States banned large electronic devices on flights from the 10 Muslim-majority countries in March over concerns that explosives could be hidden, instead requiring that travellers bound for the United States check laptops into their luggage.
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