- By Kamal Kumar
- Sun, 06 Oct 2024 01:57 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Dubai's Emirates Airline imposed a ban on carrying the pagers and walkie-talkies inside the flights, weeks after explosions linked to such devices rocked Lebanon. In a statement on Friday, the airline said that all passengers travelling to, from or via Dubai are banned from carrying pagers and walkie-talkies with them. The ban applies to both checked and cabin baggage, the release added.
“Such items found in passengers' hand luggage or checked baggage will be confiscated by Dubai Police,” the airline warned. Earlier, similar measures were taken by other Middle Eastern airlines.
The ban comes in the wake of pager explosions in Lebanon on September 15 and 16 when around 5,000 pagers and hundreds of walkie-talkies exploded killing at least 30 and injuring over 3,000 Hezbollah fighters. Later, Lebanese officials blamed Israel's Mossad for the deadly attack. The lithium batteries of pagers, walkie-talkies and other devices were rigged with two to three grams of explosives, officials added.
In addition to banning pagers and walkie-talkies, Emirates has announced that it will resume flights to Amman, the capital of Jordan, starting this Sunday.
Emirates has cancelled its Beirut-bound flights till October 15. It further announced that passenger travelling to the Lebanese capital through Dubai will not be permitted to leave their point of origin until further notice.
Flights from Iran and Iraq will remain cancelled until at least Monday, the airline said. This comes as many other airlines announced flight cancellations in the region amid the looming aerial projectile threat.
This comes in the wake of continuing escalation in the Middle East with Israel and Iran along with its proxies remaining at war. While Israel launched a fresh airstrike targeting Hezbollah command centres in Southern Beirut, Hezbollah fired over 90 rockets inside Israeli territory.