Certain Electronics Banned On Flights To U.S. From 8 Nations
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Citing "evaluated intelligence," the Transportation Security Administration is temporarily barring passengers on non-stop flights to the U.S. from eight countries in the Middle East and North Africa.
The countries are Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait. The ban affects an estimated 50 flights a day.
After the announcement, Royal Jordanian Airlines advised passengers that laptops, iPads, cameras and other electronics won't be allowed in carry-on luggage for U.S.-bound flights starting Tuesday.
The airline said in a tweet that cellphones and medical devices are excluded from the ban. Everything else, the airline says, will need to be packed in checked luggage. The message was later deleted.
The U.S. Homeland Security Department is declining to comment. It was unclear Monday how long the ban will be in place or what prompted it.
The TSA says the measure is needed because, "Evaluated intelligence indicates that terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation and are aggressively pursuing innovative methods to undertake their attacks, to include smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items."
Those devices will instead have to be packed in checked baggage.
The ban went into effect overnight Tuesday, but carriers have through Friday to comply.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
