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US lifts electronics ban on a second airline, Emirates

Emirates is the second airline, after Etihad, to be exempt from the United States' inflight electronics ban, meaning the airline's guests can now use all their electronic devices on flights to and from the US.

Emirates is the second airline, after Etihad, to be exempt from the United States’ inflight electronics ban, meaning the airline’s guests can now use all their electronic devices on flights to and from the US.

The Dubai-based carrier confirmed the news yesterday, two days after the the American government lifted the controversial ban on Etihad’s services.

An Emirates Spokesperson said the airline has been working hard with various aviation stakeholders and local authorities to increase security measures and protocols that “meet the requirements of the US Department of Homeland Security’s new security guidelines for all US bound flights”.

Emirates A380

“We would like to express our gratitude to the US and local authorities for their support and thank our customers for their understanding and patience during the last few months when the ban was in place.”

Emirates Spokesperson

The US electronics ban was first introduced in March this year on US bound services from 10 Middle Eastern and African cities – Cairo, Istanbul, Kuwait City, Doha, Casablanca, Amman, Riyadh, Jeddah, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi.

So far, only Emirates (Dubai) and Etihad (Abu Dhabi) have been exempt from the ruling, leaving passengers flying from eight of the 10 cities without their much-loved devices including tablets, laptops and DVD players.

Emirates

Despite the strict ban, several airlines operating from affected cities found new ways to keep their guests entertained onboard, including Qatar Airways, which introduced a ‘laptop loan‘ system for Business Class travellers and Royal Jordanian, which took a lighthearted approach to the situation.

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