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Royal Jordanian
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US bans electronics on inbound flights from some Muslim countries

Transportation officials are set to inform the specific airlines to be affected Tuesday; US officials say ban has been discussed for several weeks, while security experts speculate motive could be unreliable security in foreign countries or intelligence of possible attack.

The US government is temporarily barring passengers on certain flights originating in eight other countries from bringing laptops, iPads, cameras and most other electronics in carry-on luggage starting Tuesday.

 

 

The reason for the ban was not immediately clear. US security officials would not comment.

 

Photo: Shutterstock (Photo: Shutterstock)
Photo: Shutterstock

 

The ban was revealed Monday in statements from Royal Jordanian Airlines and the official news agency of Saudi Arabia.

 

A US official told The Associated Press the ban will apply to nonstop flights to the US from 10 international airports serving the cities of Cairo in Egypt; Amman in Jordan; Kuwait City in Kuwait; Casablanca in Morocco; Doha in Qatar; Riyadh and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia; Istanbul in Turkey; and Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

 

The ban was indefinite, said the official.

 

Photo: Shutterstock (Photo: Shutterstock)
Photo: Shutterstock

 

Royal Jordanian said cell phones and medical devices were excluded from the ban. Everything else, the airline said, would need to be packed in checked luggage. Royal Jordanian said the electronics ban affects its flights to New York, Chicago, Detroit and Montreal.

 

A US government official said such a ban has been considered for several weeks. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose the internal security discussions by the federal government.

 

The ban would begin just before Wednesday's meeting of the US-led coalition against ISIS in Washington. A number of top Arab officials were expected to attend the State Department gathering. It was unclear whether their travel plans were related to any increased worry about security threats.

 

Photo: Shutterstock (Photo: Shutterstock)
Photo: Shutterstock

 

Brian Jenkins, an aviation-security expert at the Rand Corp., said the nature of the security measure suggested that it was driven by intelligence of a possible attack. He added that there could be concern about inadequate passenger screening or even conspiracies involving insiders—airport or airline employees—in some countries.

 

Another aviation-security expert, Professor Jeffrey Price of Metropolitan State University of Denver, said there were disadvantages to having everyone put their electronics in checked baggage.

 

Thefts from baggage would skyrocket, as when Britain tried a similar ban in 2006, he said, and some laptops have batteries that can catch fire—an event easier to detect in the cabin than in the cargo hold.

 

Most major airports in the United States have a computer tomography or CT scanner for checked baggage, which creates a detailed picture of a bag's contents. They can warn an operator of potentially dangerous material, and may provide better security than the X-ray machines used to screen passengers and their carry-on bags. All checked baggage must be screened for explosives.

 


פרסום ראשון: 03.21.17, 08:41
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