The US has lifted its laptop ban for the route after new rules were initially introduced in March, requiring passengers to put laptops and other gadgets in the hold.
Reuters reported that Etihad Airways welcomed the decision on Sunday and credited a facility at Abu Dhabi airport where passengers clear US immigration before they land in the US for “superior security advantages” - that has satisfied US requirements.
Etihad is currently the only airline that operates direct flights from Abu Dhabi to the US.
The extra checks carried out at Abu Dhabi airport will mean that passengers go through US customs and border screening before they take off rather than after they touch down.
An Abu Dhabi airport spokesperson told Reuters that the extra screening and checking would make “minimal” difference to the time passengers spent going through security.”
A spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security said security services hoped other airlines and airports covered by the restrictions would follow suit.
In March the US banned laptops in cabins on flights originating at 10 airports in eight countries - Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Turkey - to address fears that bombs could be concealed in electronic devices taken aboard.
The ban stated that any device larger than 16cm by 9.3cm by 1.5cm (6.3in by 3.7in by 0.6in) had to be put into checked baggage.
