Abu Dhabi, first city to be exempted from US laptop ban

The capital of the United Arab Emirates has become the first city to be exempted from a US ban on laptop computers being in the cabins of airplanes coming from the Mideast.

Long-haul airline Etihad said it welcomed the decision by the US Department of Homeland Security, which comes "subject to enhanced security measures" at Abu Dhabi International Airport. That airport already has a US Customs and Border Protection facility that allows passengers to clear screening they'd otherwise have to go through when landing in America.

Homeland Security spokesman David Lapan said US officials already had seen that "the measures have been implemented correctly and to the full extent required" in Abu Dhabi. He said American monitors would make further visits to ensure the checks were being done properly.

"The enhanced security measures, both seen and unseen, include enhanced screening of passengers and electronic devices," Lapan said, declining to elaborate. "We commend Etihad for working swiftly to implement these additional measures. Their efforts are a model for both foreign and domestic airlines."

The US ban, first announced in March as a security measure, now applies to nonstop US-bound flights from nine international airports in Amman, Jordan; Kuwait City; Cairo; Istanbul; Jeddah and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Casablanca, Morocco; Doha, Qatar; and Dubai in the UAE.

In late May, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said he was considering banning laptops from the passenger cabins of all international flights to and from the United States. Kelly's comments came after US President Donald Trump shared highly classified intelligence about the Islamic State group wanting to use laptops to target aircraft with senior Russian officials visiting the White House.

The laptop ban, as well as a Trump administration travel ban on six predominantly Muslim nations, has hurt Gulf carriers. Dubai-based Emirates has slashed 20 percent of its flights to America in the wake of those decisions. The airline also has been trying to get the laptop ban lifted for its direct flights to the US It did not immediately respond to a request for comment.