US to lift laptop ban on flights from Istanbul
Print Edition
THE United States is set to lift a ban on carrying large electronic devices, such as laptops, in the cabin of US-bound flights from Turkey’s main international airport, Turkish Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan said yesterday.
Arslan was quoted by the state-run news agency Anadolu as saying the ban would be lifted today following a visit by a US delegation.
Its removal would come after Turkey began using highly sophisticated tomography devices for X-ray and ultrasound at Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport, he said.
US officials are due to inspect the machines tomorrow.
“With this confirmation mission, the ban will be lifted from Ataturk airport and from Turkish Airlines,” Arslan said.
“So it is an advantage for us that this hasn’t gone on too long,” he added.
Ataturk is the only airport in Turkey with direct flights to the US.
Late on Monday, Turkish Airlines chief executive Bilal Eksi said on Twitter he expected the ban to be lifted today.
Arslan was quoted by NTV television as saying Turkey had also been talking with Britain about removing its ban on the transport of laptops in cabin baggage from Istanbul.
Britain imposed the ban on laptops on direct flights originating from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey.
Last May, flag-carrier Turkish Airlines, which has seen exponential international growth in recent years, had responded to the ban by offering laptops to business-class travellers.
The US on Sunday lifted a ban on passengers taking such devices on Etihad Airways flights from its base in the Emirati capita of Abu Dhabi, the first airliner to benefit from a removal of the ban.
The decision came after the airline implemented enhanced security measures, a spokesman for the US Department of Homeland Security said.
The ban was put into place after intelligence officials learned of efforts by Islamic State jihadists to produce a bomb that could be secreted inside such devices.
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