The U.S. has lifted a ban on passengers taking laptops and tablet computers on Etihad Airways flights from its base in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi, authorities said on July 2, 2017. (AFP Photo)
DUBAI, July 5 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said on Wednesday that the U.S. has lifted the ban of electronic devices on board of flights from the Gulf Arab emirate to the United States, Dubai daily Gulf News reported.
Dubai's government-controlled Emirates said the lifting of the ban which took place with immediate effect was made possible after the airline implemented new "security measures" to meet the U.S. requirements for security.
On Sunday, the UAE's national carrier Etihad Airways said additional passenger screening was implemented at Abu Dhabi international airport in line with the demands by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The portable electronic device (PED) ban announced on March 21 by the U.S. included large-size electronic devices such as laptops and tablet computers. These electronic PEDs had been banned for six months from March 21 on direct flights to the U.S. from 10 airports in eight countries, namely Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Turkey and Morocco.
The laptop ban has initially triggered confusion and outrage among airline executives and passengers in the UAE, as UAE civil aviation authorities has long implemented "equal capabilities or better than the Europeans," said Emirates Airline President Sir Tim Clark in a televised interview with U.S. news channel CNN on March 22.
In reaction to the ban, Emirates has reduced the number of its flights to U.S. cities of Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Boston, Seattle, and Los Angeles since May 1, while introducing a tablet loan service for passengers who need a device to work aboard.
Earlier last month, the International Air Transport Association said passenger demand for flights by Middle East airlines to the United States fell by 2.8 percent in April due to the laptop ban.
There are no U.S. carriers flying from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to the United States. American airliners United Airlines and Delta Airlines stopped flying to Dubai in January 2016 and February 2016, respectively.
