Seal of the United States Department of Homeland SecurityThe U.S. government has lifted the in-cabin ban on laptops and other large electronic devices on inbound flights from Dubai and Istanbul, according to Emirates and Turkish Airlines.

An Emirates spokesperson told Reuters on Wednesday that the ban was lifted for flights out of Dubai after the airline adopted new security measures announced last week by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Turkish Airlines tweeted on Tuesday that the ban had been lifted, while CEO Bilal Eksi informed Reuters that he also expected restrictions to be lifted for U.K.-bound flights.

The original ban came into effect in March on flights originating at 10 airports in eight countries, including Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Turkey. The ban was imposed after "evaluated intelligence" suggested a bomb threat that involved smaller bombs being concealed in electronic devices taken aboard aircraft.

The new enhanced security measures were announced on June 29 and require additional time to screen passengers. The new protocol takes effect within three weeks of the announcement and will affect around 325,000 daily passengers travelling on 180 airlines from 280 airports around the world, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Saudi Arabia Airlines (Saudia) expects the ban to lifted on flights from Jeddah and Riyadh by July 19, state news agency SPA reported on Tuesday.

Top Rated Comments

jkool Avatar
75 months ago
Istanbul was Constantinople. Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GrumpyMom Avatar
75 months ago
The risk of explosion is still there,Not from a bomb concealed in a laptop.It Can be from a faulty battery in someone's laptop or from a cheapo tablet:D
Don't look at me. I turned in my Note 7! ;)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarlJ Avatar
75 months ago
I don't see anyone writing Constantinople here?
Per Wikipedia ('https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istanbul_(Not_Constantinople)'):
"Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" is a 1953 novelty song ... the lyrics humorously refer to the official 1930 renaming of the city of Constantinople to Istanbul.
...
One of the better-known versions of "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)" is the cover by the alternative rock band They Might Be Giants (TMBG), who released it on their album Flood in 1990.

Istanbul - They Might Be Giants - lyrics - YouTube ('//www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sl4XCVmoXg')
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OldSchoolMacGuy Avatar
75 months ago
The number of direct flights from those airports to the US were very minimal, impacting very few. In almost all cases, one would connect through another airport, most commonly in Europe, first, and not be impacted by this.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Markoth Avatar
75 months ago
Why did Constantinople get the works?!
Why do you care? It's nobody's business but the Turks.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Superhai Avatar
75 months ago
There are 18 different airline-city combinations that have direct flights to/from Dubai. They're listed here ('http://www.travelmath.com/nonstop-flight/from/United+States/to/Dubai,+United+Arab+Emirates'). Emirates has three nonstops daily between Dubai and JFK. That one airline has thousands of seats weekly -- just to JFK. How do you score that as "very minimal"?
That list is not very accurate, it includes codeshare and some routes have been terminated. But on the other hand Emirates have daily flights to/from Boston (around 300 seats/direction ), Chicago (350), Dallas (350), Houston (350), Los Angeles (500), New York (1500), San Francisco (500), Seattle (250), Washington DC (500) plus Fort Lauderdale (250), Orlando (250) with five weekly. Emirates have an average seat factor of 80% so that is 3700 daily passengers to US for Emirates alone. Considering that most flights flown for most passengers are not intercontinental, or do connect to services above 6 hours, you are extremely modest in your assessment of thousands weekly affected, which would be a drop in the ocean. The weekly number is in tens of thousands for Emirates weekly, when you include Qatar, Turkish Airlines, and Etihad probably 100 000 weekly and above. It is rather high percentage of those flying these longer flights, where the use of a laptop would be more important.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 16

Apple Releases iOS 16.4 With New Emoji, Safari Web Push Notifications, Beta Changes, Voice Isolation for Calls and More

Monday March 27, 2023 10:03 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 16.4, the fourth major update to the iOS 16 operating system that initially came out last September. iOS 16.4 comes two months after the launch of iOS 16.3, an update that added Security Keys for Apple ID. iOS 16‌.4 and iPadOS 16.4 can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. It can take a few minutes...
iOS 16

iOS 16.4 Will Add These 8 New Features to Your iPhone

Sunday March 26, 2023 8:06 am PDT by
Following nearly six weeks of beta testing, iOS 16.4 is expected to be released to the public as soon as this week. The software update includes a handful of new features and changes for the iPhone 8 and newer. To install an iOS update, open the Settings app on the iPhone, tap General → Software Update, and follow the on-screen instructions. Below, we have recapped eight new features and...
apple mixed reality headset concept by david lewis and marcus kane

Some Apple Employees Seriously Concerned About Mixed-Reality Headset as Announcement Draws Closer

Sunday March 26, 2023 8:25 am PDT by
Some Apple employees are concerned about the usefulness and price point of the company's upcoming mixed-reality headset, The New York Times reports. Apple headset concept by David Lewis and Marcus Kane Initial enthusiasm around the device at the company has apparently become skepticism, according to eight current and former Apple employees speaking to The New York Times. The change of tone...
iOS 17 on Phone Feature

Gurman: iOS 17 to Provide Several 'Most Requested Features'

Sunday March 26, 2023 6:05 am PDT by
Apple changed the strategy for iOS 17 later in its development process to add several new features, suggesting that the update may be more significant than previously thought, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. In January, Gurman said that iOS 17 could be a less significant update than iPhone updates in previous years due to the company's intense focus on its long-awaited mixed-reality...
apple tv 4k red image

Apple Releases tvOS 16.4 for Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD

Monday March 27, 2023 10:00 am PDT by
Apple today released tvOS 16.4, the fourth major point update to the tvOS 16 operating system that came out last September. Available for the Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD, tvOS 16.4 comes two months following the release of tvOS 16.3. The tvOS 16.4 update can be downloaded over the air through the Settings app on the ‌‌‌‌Apple TV‌‌‌‌ by going to System > Software Update....
Steve Jobs Theater dusk

Apple Reportedly Demoed Mixed-Reality Headset to Executives in the Steve Jobs Theater Last Week

Sunday March 26, 2023 5:53 am PDT by
Apple showcased its mixed-reality headset to the company's top 100 executives in the Steve Jobs Theater last week, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman explained that the "momentous gathering" is a "key milestone" ahead of the headset's public announcement planned for June. The event was intended to rally Apple's top members of...
Apple Music Classical

Apple Explains Why It Launched an iPhone App Dedicated to Classical Music

Monday March 27, 2023 8:54 pm PDT by
Apple today published a support document explaining why it decided to release a standalone Apple Music Classical app for classical music. In short, Apple says the app was designed to support classical music's complex metadata:Classical music is different. It has longer and more detailed titles, multiple artists for each work, and hundreds of recordings of well-known pieces. The Apple Music...
iPhone 15 Pro Buttons CAD Leak

iPhone 15 Pro Low-Energy Chip to Allow Solid-State Buttons to Work When Device is Off or Out of Battery

Wednesday March 29, 2023 1:54 am PDT by
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will use a new ultra-low energy microprocessor allowing certain features like the new capacitive solid-state buttons to remain functional even when the handset is powered off or the battery has run out, according to a source that shared details on the MacRumors forums. CAD-based render of new solid-state buttons on iPhone 15 Pro models The source of this rumor is ...