Skip to main content

Emirates bans communication devices following Hezbollah explosions

1 min Mena Today

Emirates, the largest airline in the Middle East, has issued a ban on passengers carrying pagers and walkie-talkies following a series of deadly explosions in Lebanon in mid-September, attributed to Israel in an attack targeting Hezbollah. 

The airline's decision comes as a security measure amid escalating tensions in the region © X

The airline's decision comes as a security measure amid escalating tensions in the region © X

Emirates, the largest airline in the Middle East, has issued a ban on passengers carrying pagers and walkie-talkies following a series of deadly explosions in Lebanon in mid-September, attributed to Israel in an attack targeting Hezbollah. 

The airline's decision comes as a security measure amid escalating tensions in the region.

In a statement released on Friday, Emirates announced, “All passengers traveling to, from, or through Dubai (where the airline is based) are prohibited from carrying pagers and walkie-talkies in their luggage or onboard.”

On September 17, simultaneous explosions involving pagers used by Hezbollah, a pro-Iranian Lebanese Islamist group, resulted in dozens of deaths and thousands of injuries in Lebanon. 

The devices were reportedly used for communication by Hezbollah and detonated in a coordinated attack. These pagers and walkie-talkies allow users to send and receive messages using their own radio frequency, outside of mobile networks, making them less susceptible to surveillance.

In addition to the ban, Emirates has extended its suspension of flights to Iran and Iraq until Tuesday. This suspension has been in place since the Iranian missile attack on Israel earlier in the week. 

The airline also announced that flights to Lebanon will remain suspended until October 15, as Israeli airstrikes continue in the country.

Related

Yemen

Saudi Arabia's Yemen humiliation

Thousands of people took to the streets of the cities of Aden and Mukalla in southern Yemen on Saturday in support of the country's main separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council, which denied it was planning to disband.

Yemen

Yemen's main separatist group denies it is disbanding

Yemen's main separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council, denied on Saturday it was disbanding, contradicting a statement by one of its members that the group had decided to dissolve itself.

United Arab Emirates

Cameroon to crack down on gold smuggling routed to the UAE

Cameroon says it will tighten controls on artisanal and small-scale gold mining from January 2026, aiming to curb smuggling that officials say is siphoning off revenues in a sector with significant potential but no operating industrial gold mines.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Mena banner 4

To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.

  • Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.