REUTERS/Srdjan Zivulovic/Illustration/File Photo

Etihad welcomed the decision on Sunday and credited a facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport where passengers clear U.S. immigration before they land in the United States for “superior security advantages” that had allowed it to satisfy U.S. requirements. Providing that passengers are flying nonstop to the US with long-haul airline Etihad – the only carrier with direct flights to America from Abu Dhabi – they can once again carry their laptops into the cabin with them. In March, the United States banned laptops in cabins on flights to the United States originating at 10 airports in eight countries - Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Turkey - to address fears that bombs could be concealed in electronic devices taken aboard aircraft. Department of Homeland Security spokesman David Lapan said in a statement provided to Reuters that Etihad's efforts to implement extra security measures were a model for foreign and domestic airlines. Dubai Airports, the operator of Emirates hub Dubai International Airport, said on Monday it had offered its “full cooperation ... to satisfy the U.S. directive as quickly as possible.”

Etihad operates 45 flights a week between Abu Dhabi and the United States, the company said. Dubai-based Emirates, the largest international airline by passenger traffic and a rival to Etihad, said in April it was cutting flights on five U.S. routes because of reduced demand, after a travel ban imposed by President Donald Trump and the laptop ban.
The United States lifts its ban on electronics in the cabin of flights from Abu Dhabi to the U.S.