Dubai's Emirates Airlines Bans Pagers, Walkie-Talkies Onboard Flights After Lebanon Blasts

Pagers on display at a meeting room at the Gold Apollo company building in New Taipei City, Taiwan. (Image: REUTERS)

Several other airlines have also suspended flights to Beirut and other regional airports amid heightened tensions

Dubai’s Emirates Airlines has banned passengers from carrying pagers and walkie-talkies on its flights, following last month’s attacks on Lebanese group Hezbollah involving communication devices that exploded.

“All passengers traveling to, from, or via Dubai are prohibited from transporting pagers and walkie-talkies in checked or cabin baggage,” the airline said in a statement on its website on Friday. It added that any prohibited items found will be confiscated by Dubai Police as part of heightened security measures.

In the deadly September attacks, thousands of booby-trapped Hezbollah pagers and hundreds of radios exploded – attacks that were widely blamed on Israel but which it has not claimed.

The Middle East’s largest airline also announced that flights to Iraq and Iran will remain suspended until Tuesday, while services to Jordan will resume on Sunday. Flights to Lebanon will remain suspended until Oct. 15 due to escalating Israeli attacks against Iran-backed Hezbollah, including strikes near Beirut’s airport.

Several other airlines have also suspended flights to Beirut and other regional airports amid heightened tensions.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - Reuters)