The United States has ended its ban on passengers carrying laptops on-board US bound flights from certain airports in the Middle East and North Africa.
The Department of Homeland Security said on Thursday that all 180 airlines serving the US have now taken the security steps needed to avoid being forced to implement the inflight bans on laptops.
It brings an end to a four month ban that became one of the controversial travel restrictions imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration.
The US imposed restrictions in March on passengers carrying laptops and other large electronic gear in cabins on flights from 10 airports in eight countries in the Middle East and North Africa in response to unspecified security threats.
DHS spokesman David Lapan said that as of midnight Wednesday all airports and airlines with flights to America had all implemented the first phase of tough new security protocols announced by US authorities on June 28.
The protocols were not detailed to the public.
Officials said the protocols involve a range of measures including more sniffing dogs, explosive trace detection, swapping of luggage for chemical traces and physical inspection of electronics.
The measures came in response to increased worries that Islamic State, Al-Qaeda and other jihadist groups are plotting to attack international flights with bombs hidden in consumer electronics.
Airlines and airports were warned that their US services would be cut off if they did not immediately begin toughening their pre-boarding inspections.
‘The quick and decisive action taken by airlines, nations, and stakeholders are a testament to our shared commitment to raising the bar on global aviation security,’ Lapan said.
All 10 of the airports in the Middle East and North Africa have now installed new equipment or strengthened procedures to protect against a laptop bomb, and the restrictions have been lifted.
DHS Secretary John Kelly said on Wednesday that officials had tested a laptop bomb on a real airplane and that the result was that ‘it destroyed the plane.’
Given the constant threat of ever-changing technologies, Kelly said DHS decided to take a more sweeping approach to security.
‘Globally, we are raising aviation security as opposed to going after one single threat,’ he said, speaking in Aspen, Colorado.
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