After Etihad, Emirates also exempted from U.S. laptop ban

The United States has lifted the ban on passengers carrying laptops and other electronics on Emirates Airways flights from its base in Dubai with immediate effects, said an airlines spokesperson.

"Effective immediately, the electronics ban has been lifted for Emirates' flights from Dubai International Airport to the United States," an Emirates spokesperson said in a statement.

The spokesperson informed that Emirates has been working hard in coordination with various aviation stakeholders and the local authorities to implement heightened security measures and protocols that meet the requirements of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's new security guidelines for all U.S. bound flights.

"We would like to express our gratitude to the US and local authorities for their support and thank our customers for their understanding and patience during the last few months when the ban was in place," the statement said.

Earlier, the United States had exempted Etihad Airways flights from the ban as well.

The decision was taken three months after the Trump Administration banned the people from carrying laptops on such flights that were directly coming from eight Muslim-majority countries.

The Trump administration in March announced that passengers traveling from 10 airports would be prohibited from bringing laptops and certain personal electronic devices on board with them. The other cities are Amman, Cairo, Casablanca, Doha, Dubai, Istanbul, Jeddah, Kuwait City and Riyadh.

Authorities at the time had said that the initial ban was put considering a previously undisclosed terrorists' plot, involving explosives hidden in an electronic device.

Following the U.S., Britain also imposed a similar ban, applying to inbound flights from six countries that are Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey.

-ANI