Saudi Arabian Airlines hopes US will lift ban by July 19

DUBAI — Saudi Arabian Airlines, known as Saudia, expects the in-cabin ban on laptops and other large electronics on its direct flights to the US to be lifted by July 19, state news agency SPA reported on Tuesday.

But US authorities said it was too early to say whether the carrier would satisfy the new requirements.

The airline is working with the country’s civil aviation authority, GACA, to implement new security measures for US-bound flights announced by the US Department of Homeland Security last week, according to the SPA report.

David Lapan, a spokesman for the department, said in an e-mail it was too early to confirm Saudia’s compliance.

Saudia flies to the US from airports in Jeddah and Riyadh.

In Istanbul, Turkish Airlines tweeted that passengers aboard its US-bound flights should “fasten your seatbelts and enjoy your own electronic devices.” A statement from the airline said it had taken over 81,000 electronic devices away from passengers to store them in specially protected baggage during the 102 days the ban was in place.

The US laptop ban, first announced in March as a security measure, now applies to nonstop US-bound flights from seven international airports in Amman, Kuwait City, Cairo, Jeddah, Riyadh, Casablanca, and Doha. —

Dubai Media Office Dubai Police Chief Maj-Gen Abdullah Khalifa Al Merri visits Terminal 3 of the Dubai International Airport on Wednesday to check the inspection procedures after the ban on electronic devices on Emirates flights to the US was lifted. —