WASHINGTON/LONDON
(Reuters) - The United States and Britain on Tuesday imposed
restrictions on carry-on electronic devices on planes coming from
certain airports in Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and
North Africa in response to unspecified security threats.
The
U.S. Department of Homeland Security said passengers traveling from
those airports could not bring devices such as tablets, portable DVD
players, laptops and
cameras into the main cabin that are larger than a
mobile phone. Instead, such items must be in checked baggage.
Britain
took similar steps, with a spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May
saying that there would be curbs on electronic items in the main cabin
on flights from six countries in the Middle East.
The
moves were prompted by reports that militant groups want to smuggle
explosive devices inside electronic gadgets, U.S. officials told
reporters on a conference call on Monday.
"The
U.S. government is concerned about terrorists’ ongoing interest in
targeting commercial aviation, including transportation hubs over the
past two years," a U.S. counter-terrorism official said in a statement.
"Our information indicates that terrorist groups’ efforts to execute an attack against the aviation sector are intensifying."
The
airports covered by the U.S. restrictions are in Cairo; Istanbul;
Kuwait City; Doha, Qatar; Casablanca, Morocco; Amman, Jordan; Riyadh and
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates.
Officials
said the decision had nothing to do with President Donald Trump's
efforts to impose a travel ban on citizens of six majority-Muslim
nations. DHS spokeswoman Gillian Christensen said the government "did
not target specific nations. We relied upon evaluated intelligence to
determine which airports were affected."
On
March 6, Trump signed a revised executive order barring citizens from
Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from traveling to the
United States for 90 days. Two federal judges have halted parts of the
ban although Trump has vowed to appeal.
While
Democrats have criticized the Republican Trump's travel ban,
Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence
committee said he backed the new precautions.
"These
steps are both necessary and proportional to the threat. We know that
terrorist organizations want to bring down aircraft and have continued
to employ creative ways to try and outsmart detection methods," Schiff
said in a statement.
However,
human rights group Amnesty International said the restrictions raised
"serious concerns that this could be yet more bigotry disguised as
policy".
The
airports affected by the U.S. electronics rules are served by nine
airlines that fly directly from those cities to the United States about
50 times a day, senior government officials said.
AIRLINES ACT TO COMPLY
The
carriers - Royal Jordanian Airlines, Egypt Air, Turkish Airlines, Saudi
Arabian Airlines, Kuwait Airways [KA.UL], Royal Air Maroc, Qatar
Airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways - have until Friday to heed the new
policy, which took effect early on Tuesday and will be in place
indefinitely.
Several
of the carriers, including Turkish Airlines, Etihad and Qatar, said
early on Tuesday that they were quickly moving to comply. Royal
Jordanian and Saudi Airlines said on Monday that they were immediately
putting the directive into place.
An
Emirates spokeswoman said the new security directive would last until
Oct. 14. However, Christensen termed that date "a placeholder for
review" of the rule.
The
policy does not affect any American carriers because none fly directly
to the United States from the airports affected, officials said.
A
U.S. government source said that while the restrictions arose from
multiple reports of security threats, some very recent intelligence had
arrived which helped to trigger the timing of the current alert.
Reuters
reported Monday that the move had been under consideration since the
U.S. government learned of a threat several weeks ago.
U.S.
authorities believe there is a threat from plots similar to an incident
a year ago in Somalia, where a bomb hidden in a laptop blew a hole in
the side of a plane although failed to down it, another source said.
Officials
did not explain why the restrictions only apply to travelers arriving
in the United States and not for those same flights when they leave from
there.
The
rules do apply to U.S. citizens traveling on those flights, but not to
crew members on those foreign carriers. Homeland Security will allow
passengers to use larger approved medical devices.
Britain
said its restrictions would apply to direct flights from Turkey,
Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, and that devices
larger than a normal-sized smartphone would have to be placed in the
hold.
The
British regulations affect British Airways, easyJet, Jet2, Monarch,
Thomas Cook, Thomson, Atlas-Global, Pegasus, EgyptAir, Royal Jordanian,
Middle East Airlines, Saudia, Turkish Airlines and Tunisair.
"The
safety and security of the traveling public is our highest priority.
That is why we keep our aviation security under constant review and put
in place measures we believe are necessary, effective and
proportionate," a British government spokesman said.
Angela
Gittens, director general of airport association ACI World, likened the
move to years-long restrictions on liquids aboard planes, which she
said also came suddenly, in response to a perceived threat, and caused
some disruption.
Airlines
will adjust to the electronics policy, she said. "The first few days of
something like this are quite problematic, but just as with the liquids
ban, it will start to sort itself out."
The
Homeland Security Department stepped up security of U.S.-bound flights
in July 2014, requiring tougher screening of mobile phones and other
electronic devices and requiring them to be powered up before passengers
could board flights to America.
No comments :
Post a Comment