A new flight restriction out of the Trump administration will keep passengers on United States-bound flights from eight Muslim-majority countries from carrying on any electronics bigger than a cell phone.
The new rule was explained to be a proactive way to address differences and lapses in those foreign airports’ security and it was not the result of any threats from those countries.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the restriction applies to tablets, cameras, laptops and any games bigger than a phone and applies to flights from airports in Amman, Jordan; Cairo; Istanbul; Jeddah and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Kuwait City; Casablanca, Morocco; Doha, Qatar; and Abu Dhabi and Dubai, UAE. It also only applies to foreign airlines, not American-operated ones.
The restriction was effective as of 3 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday and the affected airports have 96 hours to put the rule into practice.
Abu Dhabi’s airport is one of few outside the country that has United States customs screen passengers before a flight, but it is also subjected to the new ban.
Royal Jordanian Airlines tweeted this to its passengers after the announcement.
Royal Jordanian has deleted its tweet regarding the #electronicsban. pic.twitter.com/LdFsAPWfMy
— Jon Ostrower (@jonostrower) March 20, 2017