Qatar to comply with new U.S. airline security measures - minister

[rooster59]

Qatar to comply with new U.S. airline security measures - minister

By Allison Lampert

 

View of departures area at Hamad International airport in Doha, Qatar, June 20, 2017. Picture taken June 20, 2017. REUTERS/Deepa Babington

 

MONTREAL (Reuters) - Qatar will comply with enhanced security measures for flights to the United States designed to prevent expanding an in-cabin ban on laptops, the country's minister of transport said on Friday.

 

The measures, which European and U.S. officials said on Wednesday would begin taking effect within three weeks, could require additional time to screen passengers and personal electronic devices for possible explosives.

 

"We will respect it," the minister, Jassim Saif Al Sulaiti, said in an interview in Montreal, where he is meeting officials of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). He did not provide specific details.

 

Al Sulaiti repeated Qatar's request for the ICAO to intervene over Gulf neighbours closing their airspace to state-owned Qatar Airways flights in early June. Qatar has also asked for the ICAO to open international airspace over Gulf waters currently managed by the United Arab Emirates.

 

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar, forcing Qatar Airways to fly longer, more expensive routes over Iran. The four countries accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism and have made various demands on Doha. Qatar denies the allegations.

 

On Friday, top ICAO officials briefed members of the agency's governing council on the safety and efficiency of air traffic in the Middle East region. During the briefing, which was closed to media and the public, members were told that the diplomatic rift did not cause serious safety concerns because aircraft operated by non-Qatar carriers could still fly to Doha, two sources familiar with the matter said.

 

Nevertheless, while no decision was reached at the briefing, ICAO will still hold future talks to discuss new contingency routes for Qatar Airways, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was confidential.

 

Representatives of the UAE and Saudi Arabia could not be reached for comment on Friday.

 

ICAO's 36-state governing council can act to settle the overflights issue presented by Qatar, but such interventions are rare and time-consuming because the specialised United Nations agency usually negotiates disputes diplomatically through consensus.

 

ICAO cannot impose rules on states, but regulators from its 191-member countries almost always adopt and enforce its international aviation standards.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-07-01

[observer90210]

Makes no sense?...the boycott of Qatar, obviously had strings pulled behind the screens from the USA, for a good or bad reason....

 

The point here is it is surprising that Qatar can still fly to the US?...if not,  why would it start this ridiculous computer ban?

[Scott]

I believe the airlines flies to a number of cities in the US.

[volsfan]

4 hours ago, observer90210 said:

Makes no sense?...the boycott of Qatar, obviously had strings pulled behind the screens from the USA, for a good or bad reason....

 

The point here is it is surprising that Qatar can still fly to the US?...if not,  why would it start this ridiculous computer ban?

Wow. The lengths people will go to on this board to blame the US are amazing. Maybe you should read up on this situation a bit before making comments such as that. The US has a massive Air Base in Qatar. Their operations in the region would be severely hampered were the Qatari's to boot them out.

 

The boycott is nothing more that internal Islamic politics. The Qatari's have aligned themselves with Iran, the arch-enemy of the Saudi's and the other Sunni-dominated countries. A tweet purported to be from the Emir of Qatar, and reported on by Al-Jazeera brought this to a head. That explains why the closure of Al Jazeera (Qatar State TV) is one of the demands of the Sunni's. 

 

As for the laptop ban, it has been in effect for sometime now. It includes 10 airports, and targets Emirates, Etihad, and Turkish in addition to Qatar. Originally, my personal belief was that it was a back-door sanction on those airlines to appease the US airlines complaining about Government subsidy of those airlines allowing them to offer lower prices that non-subsidized airlines. Business travelers who want or need their laptops in flight would chose European or American carriers rather than those included in the ban. Effective? Who knows?

 

However, 3 days ago they announced that they are adding new rules to 180 airlines flying out of 280 airports. So, maybe the reasoning really is security as they claim, and not economic as I believe.

[observer90210]

5 minutes ago, volsfan said:

Wow. The lengths people will go to on this board to blame the US are amazing. Maybe you should read up on this situation a bit before making comments such as that. The US has a massive Air Base in Qatar. Their operations in the region would be severely hampered were the Qatari's to boot them out.

 

The boycott is nothing more that internal Islamic politics. The Qatari's have aligned themselves with Iran, the arch-enemy of the Saudi's and the other Sunni-dominated countries. A tweet purported to be from the Emir of Qatar, and reported on by Al-Jazeera brought this to a head. That explains why the closure of Al Jazeera (Qatar State TV) is one of the demands of the Sunni's. 

 

As for the laptop ban, it has been in effect for sometime now. It includes 10 airports, and targets Emirates, Etihad, and Turkish in addition to Qatar. Originally, my personal belief was that it was a back-door sanction on those airlines to appease the US airlines complaining about Government subsidy of those airlines allowing them to offer lower prices that non-subsidized airlines. Business travelers who want or need their laptops in flight would chose European or American carriers rather than those included in the ban. Effective? Who knows?

 

However, 3 days ago they announced that they are adding new rules to 180 airlines flying out of 280 airports. So, maybe the reasoning really is security as they claim, and not economic as I believe.

Now now...no need to feel offended...it was just a hypothesis as I do not happen to be in the tea time guest list of the concerned islamic nations!...And maybe you should not be so over modest on the impact the US has on middle eastern-islamic issues...I'm sure your lovely country has it's word to say?...Nevertheless, thanks for your time in the very through briefing!

[observer90210]

54 minutes ago, Scott said:

I believe the airlines flies to a number of cities in the US.

Oki doki...then the laptop ban makes sense...

[Andaman Al]

18 minutes ago, volsfan said:

Wow. The lengths people will go to on this board to blame the US are amazing. Maybe you should read up on this situation a bit before making comments such as that. The US has a massive Air Base in Qatar. Their operations in the region would be severely hampered were the Qatari's to boot them out.

 

The boycott is nothing more that internal Islamic politics. The Qatari's have aligned themselves with Iran, the arch-enemy of the Saudi's and the other Sunni-dominated countries. A tweet purported to be from the Emir of Qatar, and reported on by Al-Jazeera brought this to a head. That explains why the closure of Al Jazeera (Qatar State TV) is one of the demands of the Sunni's. 

Nobody needs to go to any lengths to blame the USA, Trump stated the problems occurred because he instigated it. Have you been wandering around with your eyes closed for a month?

 

As regards Qatar aligning themselves with Iran, that is just absolute BS. Qatar and Iran, share (in very crowded waters) possibly the largest LNG field in the world. As a result they have to be cordial with each other, nothing more. Qatar is also sunni   For decades the region has used Qatar as the intermediary with Iran for various discussions. Now they decide they want to bring Qatar to heel and make them kiss Saudi ass. Well Qatar will not do it. Al Jazeera is without doubt the best news agency in the Middle East and they have riled the neighbours because they tell blistering truths about what is going on in the region.

Edited July 1, 2017 by Andaman Al

[Morch]

On 7/1/2017 at 5:47 PM, observer90210 said:

Makes no sense?...the boycott of Qatar, obviously had strings pulled behind the screens from the USA, for a good or bad reason....

 

The point here is it is surprising that Qatar can still fly to the US?...if not,  why would it start this ridiculous computer ban?

 

"Obviously" how?

[Morch]

20 hours ago, Andaman Al said:

Nobody needs to go to any lengths to blame the USA, Trump stated the problems occurred because he instigated it. Have you been wandering around with your eyes closed for a month?

 

As regards Qatar aligning themselves with Iran, that is just absolute BS. Qatar and Iran, share (in very crowded waters) possibly the largest LNG field in the world. As a result they have to be cordial with each other, nothing more. Qatar is also sunni   For decades the region has used Qatar as the intermediary with Iran for various discussions. Now they decide they want to bring Qatar to heel and make them kiss Saudi ass. Well Qatar will not do it. Al Jazeera is without doubt the best news agency in the Middle East and they have riled the neighbours because they tell blistering truths about what is going on in the region.

 

And because Trump states something it means it's true? Think we're past that. Trump taking credit for things he had nothing to do with? Been there too.

 

The Palace Intrigue at the Heart of the Qatar Crisis

http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/06/30/the-palace-intrigue-at-the-heart-of-the-qatar-crisis-saudi-uae-al-thani/

 

There’s No Space for Qatar to Save Face

http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/06/29/theres-no-space-for-qatar-to-save-face/

Edited July 2, 2017 by Morch

[Khun Han]

On 7/1/2017 at 11:47 AM, observer90210 said:

Makes no sense?...the boycott of Qatar, obviously had strings pulled behind the screens from the USA, for a good or bad reason....

 

The point here is it is surprising that Qatar can still fly to the US?...if not,  why would it start this ridiculous computer ban?

 

I suspect it's the other way around: The US has had it's strings pulled by Saudi because Saudi has eyes for Qatar.

[observer90210]

12 hours ago, Khun Han said:

 

I suspect it's the other way around: The US has had it's strings pulled by Saudi because Saudi has eyes for Qatar.

That would also be an interesting theory.