Early Tuesday, the Trump administration announced that passengers on direct flights from 10 airports in eight majority-Muslim countries in the Middle East and North Africa will not be allowed to bring electronic devices larger than a cellphone into the airplane cabin with them. The new rule is effective immediately, and any of the foreign airlines that fail to comply in 96 hours may be barred from flying to the U.S. Trump administration officials said the ban was not linked to any specific or credible terrorist threat and was meant to fill gaps in airport security in the eight countries — Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (Dubai and Abu Dhabi), Kuwait, and Morocco.
The Trump administration said foreign officials were informed of the ban starting Sunday, but it still caused confusion in the targeted nations Tuesday morning. Officials at Cairo's international airport said they have received no instructions from the U.S., and Royal Jordanian airlines says it has not yet started to ban laptops, tablets, and other electronics from the cabin.
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