Turkey’s Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister Ahmet Arslan sent a letter to US authorities on Wednesday asking that Turkey be removed from a list of countries that are subject to a ban preventing aircraft passengers from bringing electronic devices larger than a cellphone onboard in their carry-on luggage.
In a statement to the Turkish media, Arslan said he sent a letter to his US counterpart and added that additional security measures may cause some disruption for passengers and flights.
He also said he would send a similar letter to his UK counterpart as another flight ban was imposed by British authorities for flights from six countries including Turkey on Tuesday.
After US authorities announced late on Monday that electronic devices larger than a mobile phone will be prohibited in the passenger cabin on flights from 10 airports in eight Muslim-majority countries, the UK also imposed the same ban on direct flights to the UK from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.
The 10 airports affected by the US ban are Queen Alia International Airport in Jordan, Cairo International Airport in Egypt, Istanbul Ataturk Airport in Turkey, King Abdulaziz International Airport and King Khalid International Airport in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait International Airport in Kuwait, Mohammed V International Airport in Morocco, Hamad International Airport in in Qatar, and Dubai International Airport and Abu Dhabi International Airport in the United Arab Emirates and The affected airlines are Royal Jordanian, Egypt Air, Turkish Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways for direct flights to the US. However, the restrictions will not apply to aircraft crews.
The UK ban includes six UK carriers — British Airways, EasyJet, Jet2.com, Monarch, Thomas Cook and Thomson — and eight overseas carriers — Turkish Airlines, Pegasus Airways, Atlas-Global Airlines, Middle East Airlines, Egyptair, Royal Jordanian, Tunis Air and Saudi Arabian Airlines.