Flight Passengers From 8 Muslim Countries Barred Carrying Laptops, Tablets

Eight Muslim-majority countries might be offended with the new guidelines for flight passengers for any destination in the United States. Portable electronic devices including tablets and laptops now are prohibited to carry on board when they fly.

The eight countries are Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The new rule has come to effect immediately.

Not all the airports of the mentioned countries come under the new rule. Below are the list of 10 airports currently selected based on the threat picture:

Queen Alia International Airport (AMM) in Jordan, Cairo International Airport (CAI) in Egypt, Ataturk International Airport (IST) in Turkey, King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) and King Khalid International Airport (RUH) in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait International Airport (KWI) in Kuwait, Mohammed V International Airport (CMN) in Morocco, Hamad International Airport (DOH) in Qatar and Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) in the United Arab Emirates.

Passengers are not banned from such electronic devices completely. They can carry those packed in their checked baggage.

According to Senior US administration officials, the new rule comes after evaluated intelligence citing terror groups are still targeting commercial aviation by smuggling explosives in such electronic devices.

It is highly necessary for the US to enhance security procedures for flight passengers, said Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly and Transportation Security Administration acting administrator Huban Gowadia.