Europe

Abu Dhabi, Etihad Airways Dropped From On-Board Laptop Ban List

The still-restricted airports and airlines are in Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates

Passengers flying from Abu Dhabi International Airport on U.S.-bound flights are now allowed to use laptop computers in airline cabins, federal officials said Sunday.

Etihad Airways, which is based in Abu Dhabi, was also removed from a list that banned passengers flying on nine airlines and using 10 airports from bringing any device larger than a cellphone into airplane cabins, the Transportation Safety Administration said in a statement.

The still-restricted airports and airlines are in Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The Department of Homeland Security scuttled plans last month to impose similar restrictions on U.S.-bound flights from Europe — a move that Alexandre de Juniac, director general and chief executive of the International Air Transport Association, had said could produce "a $1.4 billion hit on productivity."

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