In March 2017, United States unilaterally applied a ban on electronics & laptops to travel in the cabin of aircraft for airlines which originated travel out of the Middle-East. The United Kingdom quickly applied a ban of their own, however, it was a different shape and size as compared to the American Ban, although both the allies claimed to have shared intelligence of the threat. Then the USA tried imposing the same ban on Europe-originating flights as well, but got pushback enough to cancel it.
We were brave enough put Etihad Airways to test and report back about the state of our Laptop when it travelled in the belly last month. It was all so puzzling specially to travel through Abu Dhabi airport, especially since they are a pre-clearance post for the US CBP, which should mean they already comply with American standards of screening and security. So, yesterday, we reported that Etihad is out of the Electronics Ban.
But it seems they are not the only one. Emirates has published a notice on their website to this effect:
Emirates also announced this on Twitter
Effective immediately laptops & electronic devices can be taken onboard all Emirates flights from Dubai to the US https://t.co/ii805S5mkN pic.twitter.com/iU7WCFKSq1
— Emirates airline (@emirates) July 5, 2017
Also, flights from Istanbul to the United States have been exempted from the ban as of July 5, 2017. This would mean, Turkish Airlines is also now exempt from the Electronics Ban. They still do have a ban from the UK however. Here is how they announced their recusal.
Dear Passengers, #WelcomeOnBoard to our US-bound flight. Please fasten your seatbelts and enjoy your own electronic devices. pic.twitter.com/WbcZwNPhrf
— Turkish Airlines (@TurkishAirlines) July 4, 2017
Saudia is working on getting an exemption as well, and they have set a timeline of July 19 to be compliant with the new rules of the game. Royal Jordanian also claims to be working with the US Authorities.Qatar Airways has not reacted at the moment.
However, it would surprise me if Kuwait became compliant with the rules. Their infrastructure is pretty old and I’m not sure if it changes in a jiffy to be compliant with the rules.
For those who are subject to travel via the Middle East, this is good news, since you can now be united with your laptops and cameras on your way, rather than after arrival.
QATAR / DOHA ALSO LIFTED as at 500pm Sri Lankan time July 6, happy days
You would be shocked as to how fast Kuwait has progressed. I recently travelled on their new flight from JFK and was pleasantly surprised at the way they have upgraded their entire product.
Won’t be surprised if they upgrade the infrastructure quickly too.
@Venkatesh, I almost booked myself that flight and cancelled it. I am a frequent visitor to KW and the airport infrastructure is nothing to be proud about. Heck, It is so bad I’ve had to jump seats to get to the gate to catch my flight once.
Yes Ajay. The soft product has to be improved a lot. But trust me the hard product is a massive massive improvement over the old one. Even their lounge is pretty much useless compared to the Pearl which I used to use when I used to do the DOH-KWI sector.
Anyways, my favorite Qatar is also off the electronic ban for US – so I’m all good now 🙂