Mideast countries fume over US ban
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E-mail Xinhua, March 23, 2017
The U.S. ban of large-sized electronic devices on inbound flights from Middle East has triggered confusion and outrage in some listed countries, while Britain followed the U.S. ban with slight difference in its list.
Turkish government on Wednesday sent a letter to the U.S. administration demanding removal from the ban list, one day after the new security policy carried out by the U.S. and Britain.
The ban is "not beneficial" to tourists, local Hurriyet reported, quoting Turkish Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister Ahmet Arslan as saying.
Arslan said he would also send a letter to his counterpart in Britain that took a similar decision just hours after the U.S. announcement.
The ban, which included 10 airports in Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Morocco, excluded Israel, tweeted Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, an Emirati professor of political science, adding that it is not "what one expects from a friendly country."
The Emirates Airline from Dubai, the biggest carrier in the Middle East, said in an e-mailed statement the directive comes into effect on March 25 and is valid until Oct. 14, while carriers from other listed countries successively confirmed subjection to the ban, with most of them said to implement the new rules within the week.
The new rules ban electronic devices larger than a cell phone or smart phone in the cabin, including laptops, tablets, e-readers, cameras, and excluding medical devices, only allowing them in checked baggage.
"The affected overseas airports are: Queen Alia International Airport (AMM), Cairo International Airport (CAI), Ataturk International Airport (IST), King Abdul-Aziz International Airport (JED), King Khalid International Airport (RUH), Kuwait International Airport (KWI), Mohammed V Airport (CMN), Hamad International Airport (DOH), Dubai International Airport (DXB), and Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH)," said a statement from the U.S. Homeland Security Department.
The U.S. administration did not offer details about how the airports were selected, saying the decision was based on intelligence and that it was not specific to a country or location.
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