DUBAI: The US has ended a four-month ban on passengers carrying laptops onboard US bound flights from certain airports in the Middle East and North Africa, bringing to an end one of the controversial travel restrictions imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport was the last of 10 airports to be exempted from the ban, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed in a tweet.
Middle East carriers have blamed Trump’s travel restrictions, which include banning citizens of some Muslim majority countries from visiting the US, for a downturn in demand on US routes.
In March, the US banned large electronics in cabins on flights from 10 airports in the Middle East and North Africa over concerns that explosives could be concealed in the devices taken onboard aircraft.
The ban has been lifted on the nine airlines affected — Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), Emirates, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Royal Jordanian, Kuwait Airways, EgyptAir and Royal Air Maroc — which are the only carriers to fly direct to the US from the region.
A ban on citizens of six Muslim-majority countries — Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, — remains in place though has been limited after several US court hearings challenged the restrictions.
“The aviation industry has been trying to come together with a united message to governments and stakeholders about regulation and supporting the industry,” said Will Horton, senior analyst at Australian aviation consultancy CAPA.
“That was dealt a first blow from the travel ban and then a second from the large electronics ban.”
Leading industry group the International Air Transport Association (IATA) criticized the laptop ban as ineffective, as security experts argued that militants could travel to the US via Europe or elsewhere where the restrictions did not apply.
The restrictions were imposed as major US carriers American Airlines Group, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines resumed their campaign against the Gulf carriers Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways by pressuring the new US administration to renegotiate its open skies agreements with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar.
However, US and Middle East officials said the campaign and the travel restrictions were not related.
US officials lifted the ban after visiting the 10 airports in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Turkey over the past three weeks to confirm new security measures announced last month were being implemented.
On Thursday, the US issued a revised directive to airlines around the world in response to requests that it clarify aviation security measures scheduled to start taking effect this week. The new requirements include enhanced passenger screening at foreign airports, increased security protocols around aircraft and in passenger areas and expanded canine screening. They affect 325,000 airline passengers on about 2,000 commercial flights arriving daily in the US, on 180 airlines from 280 airports in 105 countries.
Airlines that fail to meet the new security requirements could face in-cabin electronics restrictions.
The UK continues to enforce a similar in-cabin ban on electronics ban on flights from some Middle Eastern airports. Those restrictions apply to flights from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Tunisia.
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US lifts laptop ban for all Mideast airlines and airports
US lifts laptop ban for all Mideast airlines and airports
Syrian army deploys in Deir Ezzor province after Kurdish withdrawal
- Syria’s army on Monday deployed its forces in parts of the eastern Deir Ezzor province formerly controlled by Kurdish forces following their withdrawal from the area
DEIR EZZOR: Syria’s army on Monday deployed its forces in parts of the eastern Deir Ezzor province formerly controlled by Kurdish forces following their withdrawal from the area.
After two days of rapid gains in Kurdish-controlled territory, Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa announced on Sunday a deal with their leader Mazloum Abdi that includes a ceasefire and the integration of the Kurdish administration and forces into the central state.
The government push captured Arab-majority areas that came under Kurdish control during the fight against the Daesh group.
In Deir Ezzor, an AFP correspondent saw dozens of military vehicles heading to the east of the Euphrates river, which once separated Damascus-controlled areas to the west from the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to the east.
Lines of cars, trucks and motorcycles formed in front of a small bridge leading to the eastern bank.
Some people were also heading there on foot.
“Our joy over liberation is indescribable,” Mohammed Khalil, a 50-year-old driver in Deir Ezzor, told AFP.
“We hope things will be better than before. There was... no freedom under the SDF.”
Safia Keddo, a 49-year-old teacher, told AFP “the past few years, but today we must turn the page.”
“We want children to return to school without fear, and for electricity, water, and bread to be restored. We’re not asking for a miracle; we just want stability and a normal life.”
The Syrian army said in a statement that it “started the deployment” into the eastern Jazira region “to secure it under the agreement between the Syrian state and the SDF.”
The agreement calls for the immediate handover of the provinces of the Arab-majority Raqqa and Deir Ezzor provinces.
The SDF had announced on Sunday that it was withdrawing from areas under its control in the eastern Deir Ezzor countryside, including the Al-Omar and Tanak oil fields.
Local fighters from tribes in the Arab-majority province sided with Damascus and took control of these areas before the arrival of government forces.
Some Arab tribes were previously allied with the SDF, which included a significant Arab component in its ranks.
The SDF had taken control of part of Deir Ezzor after defeating the Daesh group with the support of an international coalition led by the United States.
After two days of rapid gains in Kurdish-controlled territory, Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa announced on Sunday a deal with their leader Mazloum Abdi that includes a ceasefire and the integration of the Kurdish administration and forces into the central state.
The government push captured Arab-majority areas that came under Kurdish control during the fight against the Daesh group.
In Deir Ezzor, an AFP correspondent saw dozens of military vehicles heading to the east of the Euphrates river, which once separated Damascus-controlled areas to the west from the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to the east.
Lines of cars, trucks and motorcycles formed in front of a small bridge leading to the eastern bank.
Some people were also heading there on foot.
“Our joy over liberation is indescribable,” Mohammed Khalil, a 50-year-old driver in Deir Ezzor, told AFP.
“We hope things will be better than before. There was... no freedom under the SDF.”
Safia Keddo, a 49-year-old teacher, told AFP “the past few years, but today we must turn the page.”
“We want children to return to school without fear, and for electricity, water, and bread to be restored. We’re not asking for a miracle; we just want stability and a normal life.”
The Syrian army said in a statement that it “started the deployment” into the eastern Jazira region “to secure it under the agreement between the Syrian state and the SDF.”
The agreement calls for the immediate handover of the provinces of the Arab-majority Raqqa and Deir Ezzor provinces.
The SDF had announced on Sunday that it was withdrawing from areas under its control in the eastern Deir Ezzor countryside, including the Al-Omar and Tanak oil fields.
Local fighters from tribes in the Arab-majority province sided with Damascus and took control of these areas before the arrival of government forces.
Some Arab tribes were previously allied with the SDF, which included a significant Arab component in its ranks.
The SDF had taken control of part of Deir Ezzor after defeating the Daesh group with the support of an international coalition led by the United States.
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