Qatar Airways becomes fourth airline to be granted US laptop ban exemption

John Gress | Getty Images

A Qatar Cargo Boeing 777F plane and an American Airlines Airbus 321 prepare for take off at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California.

Qatar Airways became the fourth airline in the Middle East to announce it would be exempt from measures banning laptops and other large electronic devices in the cabin on U.S. flights.

The airline announced that passengers flying to the U.S. would be exempt from the laptop ban on Thursday. It follows announcements from Emirates, Turkish Airlines and Etihad Airlines that the U.S. had lifted restrictions on passengers carrying such devices on U.S.-bound flights.

Donald Trump’s administration introduced the ban in March, barring the carrying of laptops on flights to the U.S. from the airports of eight countries – Qatar, Egypt, Morocco the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Turkey and Jordan. The ban was imposed over fears that explosives could be concealed in the devices.

“We are pleased to announce that the electronics ban has been lifted from Qatar Airways flights departing to all destinations in the U.S. Safety and security are always our highest priority,” the CEO of Qatar Airways Akbar Al Baker said on Thursday. “They are expressed throughout all of our corporate values, and must never be compromised.”

He added: “The security measures in place in Doha allow us to continue to provide our renowned world-class service for all our passengers travelling to the U.S. We look forward to providing our passengers an even greater choice of U.S. destinations soon, with the addition of San Francisco to our expanding network, on board the most modern of aircraft including the Airbus A350 and our Qsuite retro-fitted Boeing 777 aircraft.”