U.S. ENDS “LAPTOP BAN” FOR MIDDLE EASTERN AIRLINES
August 10, 2017
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced on July 17, 2017 that all 10 nations that were originally subject to a ban on laptops for direct flights to the United States now comply with heightened Department of Homeland Security (DHS) security standards. As a result, passengers are able to travel with personal electronic devices (PEDs), like laptops, in the main cabin from those countries (see below). Further, on July 21, 2017, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted to its website that “[t]here are currently no airlines under restrictions for large personal electronic devices. The [TSA] has lifted the restrictions on large personal electronic devices for the ten airports/nine airlines in the Middle East and North Africa, which were announced in March. These airports and airlines have also successfully implemented the first phase of enhanced security measures.”
The original restriction was imposed by the DHS on flights to the U.S. originating from ten Middle Eastern and North African airports: Dubai International Airport and Abu Dhabi International Airport in the UAE, Hamad International Airport in Doha, Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Cairo International Airport, Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Kuwait International Airport, and Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca.
DHS also confirmed that all ten airports have implemented “enhanced security measures”. 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 United States, on 180 airlines from 280 airports in 105 countries. DHS had also announced that international airports have 120 days to comply with other security measures, including enhanced screening of airline passengers.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665).
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