Emirates has banned pagers and walkie-talkies from its flights following the remote detonations of Hezbollah-owned devices in Lebanon last month. The Dubai-based airline has said that any devices found in passengers’ luggage will be confiscated by police.

Emirates bans pagers and walkie-talkies from its planes

Last month, pagers and handheld radios used by militant group Hezbollah exploded in a series of coordinated attacks orchestrated by Israel, killing over 30 and injuring thousands more people, including civilians caught in the blasts. Now more than two weeks since the attacks, Emirates
will no longer allow passengers to bring such devices onboard its aircraft, either as cabin or checked baggage. The carrier said,

“All Passengers travelling on flights to, from or via Dubai are prohibited from transporting pagers and walkie-talkies in checked or cabin baggage.”

Emirates, Beirut, Luggage Allowance

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

In the immediate aftermath of the explosions, which occurred over two days across Lebanon, the country’s main international airport – Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport (BEY) – banned pagers and walkie-talkies from all flights. With Israel stepping up its bombing campaign against Hezbollah in recent days, blasts were seen close to Beirut Airport, but it seems the airport escaped any damage.

Lebanese officials have said that Israel managed to conceal explosives inside the batteries of pagers, adding that the technology was so advanced it was almost impossible to detect. Hezbollah has generally avoided cell phones due to their susceptibility to being tracked or bugged, instead opting for older technology in pagers and walkie-talkies.

Closeup Emirates A380

Photo: Photofex_AUT | Shutterstock

However, Israel is believed to have infiltrated the supply chain involved in manufacturing the devices. According to a New York Times report, Israel set up multiple shell companies and apparently “laced” the lithium batteries with some kind of explosive material. The Taiwanese company responsible for manufacturing the brand of pagers that exploded has vehemently denied any involvement in producing the batch brought into Lebanon, pointing out that there are many counterfeits of its products on the market.

Middle East route suspensions update

Emirates also provided an update on some of its route suspensions forced by the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Its services to Iran and Iraq will remain suspended until Tuesday after the carrier canceled flights to the two countries following Iran’s missile attack on Israel earlier this week.

beirut airport

Photo: Wirestock Creators | Shutterstock

Additionally, flights to Lebanon will remain suspended until October 15th – should the geopolitical situation remain as it is, you can expect this suspension to be extended. On a positive note, the airline will be resuming flights to Jordan tomorrow.

Other Middle Eastern carriers have resumed some suspended services – this includes Etihad Airways, which reinstated flights to Tel Aviv on Thursday, and flydubai, which resumed routes to Iran, Iraq, Israel and Jordan on Friday. However, many international airlines continue to avoid flying to Middle Eastern destinations due to safety concerns, including Air-France KLM, Delta Air Lines, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways and United Airlines.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *