The US laptop ban has been lifted for all Emirates airline flights, with immediate effect, the Dubai-based airline announced on Wednesday morning.

“Emirates

has been working hard in coordination with various aviation stakeholders and

the local authorities to implement heightened security measures and protocols

that meet the requirements of the US Department of Homeland Security’s new

security guidelines for all US bound flights,” a spokesperson said.

“We

would like to express our gratitude to the US and local authorities for their

support and thank our customers for their understanding and patience during the

last few months when the ban was in place.”

The

decision nullifies the edge given to neighbouring Etihad Airways, which

received an exemption from the ban on Sunday, over its regional

competitors.

Abu

Dhabi International Airport was the first airport from where the US agreed to

re-allow electronic devices including tablets, laptops and cameras into the

passenger cabins of planes flying to the US.

It was

unusual for the ban to be implemented at Abu Dhabi International given it is

home to the Middle East’s only US customs pre-clearance facility, which is

likely why it was the first to then be exempt. It’s close proximity to Dubai -

about 130 kilometres by road – and Qatar - less than one hour flying – had been

expected to give it an edge over its regional competitors.

The

restrictions applied to 10 airports in the Middle East and North Africa from

late March. They now affect eight airports with US routes, including Doha’s

Hamad International Airport, the base of Qatar Airways.

The

controversial ban, which was implemented with little notice, is estimated to

have cost Emirates and Etihad millions of dollars each as they quickly sought

to introduce measures that limited the impact on passengers travelling on

dozens of UAE-US flights.

Those

measures included allowing passengers to use their devices up to the gate and

then packaging them to be stowed away in the underbelly, as well as loaning

laptops to business and first class passengers.

Emirates

cut flights on five US routes from May, blaming travel restrictions imposed by

President Donald Trump's administration for softening demand. In June,

president Tim Clark said demand was returning.

The

airports are believed to have implemented increased security measures to fulfil

US Department of Homeland Security demands in order for the ban to be lifted.

Last week, Emirates and Etihad said they were working with US authorities to

meet the “security instructions”, some of which would be implemented

immediately and others to be phased in over 21 days.

The

measures include enhanced screening of electronic devices, more thorough

vetting of passengers, increased use of bomb-sniffing dogs and measures to

mitigate the potential threat posed by insider attacks, Homeland Security

Secretary John Kelly has said. The actions will be both seen and unseen, he

added.

They

represent one of the most intense airport security upgrades since the 9/11

attacks in 2001. The Department of Homeland Security says it will affect about

325,000 passengers a day flying to the US from 280 airports in 105 countries.

It

claims it is in response to intelligence showing terrorist groups have become

more sophisticated in their bomb-making efforts and could hide explosives in

laptops or other electronic devices.