TSA enacts new rules on passenger devices

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has enacted new rules regarding electronic devices carried by passengers of foreign airlines arriving from 10 airports in majority-Muslim countries.

According to the New York Times, passengers of foreign airlines arriving from the identified airports are prohibited from carrying electronic devices larger than a cellphone on board their flights, a list which includes laptops, cameras, printers and electronic games. The regulation, which will not apply to U.S. carriers, will affect passengers arriving from Amman, Jordan; Cairo; Istanbul; Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia; Kuwait City; Casablanca, Morocco; Doha, Qatar; and Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.

The Times reported that while U.S. Homeland Security did not cite a specific terrorist threat in the regulation’s enactment, the change is based on intelligence reports about “extremist groups that have an ongoing interest in staging attacks against American aviation targets.”

A since-deleted tweet from Royal Jordanian stated that the prohibited items could still be brought on board checked baggage and that medical items were exempt.