DUBAI: A ban on most carry-on electronics on flights to the United States will not significantly affect passenger numbers at Dubai International, where flights depart to 12 US cities daily, the airport’s chief executive said on Thursday.
The US announced on Tuesday new restrictions on flights from airports in eight Muslim-majority countries, including the United Arab Emirates, affecting international airline Emirates which flies from Dubai. The restrictions apply to any device larger than a mobile phone, according to US officials, such as a laptop, tablet and portable DVD player.
Industry experts say the ban starting this Saturday could see business travelers who use laptops to work during flights switch to unaffected carriers.
“If we are very, very diligent in both communicating exactly what the restrictions are and actually have an efficient process to deal with the situation, I don’t suggest it will have an impact on numbers,” Dubai Airports Chief Executive Paul Griffiths told DubaiEye radio, adding that a “very tiny proportion” may choose to switch airlines.
Dubai International, the world’s busiest international airport, is targeting 89 million passengers this year.
Emirates, the only airline to fly direct to the US from Dubai International, will allow passengers to hand over their devices as they board, allowing them to continue to use the gadgets until the last possible moment and minimize disruption, President Tim Clark told Reuters on Wednesday.
Clark, who called the ban disruptive, said the airline was “closely monitoring the business impact of this new security measure, and we will decide on our strategies and interventions accordingly.”
The UK followed suit with a similar ban on Tuesday that does not include the UAE.
Dubai airport chief says electronics ban will have minimal impact on passenger numbers
Dubai airport chief says electronics ban will have minimal impact on passenger numbers
Family of Palestinian-American shot dead by Israeli settler demand accountability
- Relatives say Abu Siyam was among about 30 residents from the village of Mukhmas who confronted armed settlers attempting to steal goats from the community
LONDON: The family of a 19-year-old Palestinian-American man reportedly shot dead by an Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank have demanded accountability, amid mounting scrutiny over a surge in settler violence and a lack of prosecutions.
Nasrallah Abu Siyam, a US citizen born in Philadelphia, was killed near the city of Ramallah on Wednesday, becoming at least the sixth American citizen to die in incidents involving Israeli settlers or soldiers in the territory in the past two years.
Relatives say Abu Siyam was among about 30 residents from the village of Mukhmas who confronted armed settlers attempting to steal goats from the community. Witnesses said that stones were thrown by both sides before settlers opened fire, wounding at least three villagers.
Abu Siyam was struck and later died of his injuries.
Abdulhamid Siyam, the victim’s cousin, said the killing reflected a wider pattern of impunity.
“A young man of 19 shot and killed in cold blood, and no responsibility,” he told the BBC. “Impunity completely.”
The US State Department said that it was aware of the death of a US citizen and was “carefully monitoring the situation,” while the Trump administration said that it stood ready to provide consular assistance.
The Israeli embassy in Washington said the incident was under review and that an operational inquiry “must be completed as soon as possible.”
A spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces said troops were deployed to the scene and used “riot dispersal means to restore order,” adding that no IDF gunfire was reported.
The military confirmed that the incident remained under review and said that a continued presence would be maintained in the area to prevent further unrest.
Palestinians and human rights organizations say such reviews rarely lead to criminal accountability, arguing that Israeli authorities routinely fail to prosecute settlers accused of violence.
A US embassy spokesperson later said that Washington “condemns this violence,” as international concern continues to grow over conditions in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinians and human rights groups say Israeli authorities routinely fail to investigate or prosecute settlers accused of violence against civilians.
Those concerns were echoed this week by the UN, which warned that Israel’s actions in the occupied West Bank may amount to ethnic cleansing.
A UN human rights office report on Thursday said that Israeli settlement expansion, settler attacks and military operations have increasingly displaced Palestinian communities, with dozens of villages reportedly emptied since the start of the Gaza war.
The report also criticized Israeli military tactics in the northern West Bank, saying that they resembled warfare and led to mass displacement, while noting abuses by Palestinian security forces, including the use of unnecessary lethal force and the intimidation of critics.
Neither Israel’s foreign ministry nor the Palestinian Authority has commented on the findings.
