Emirates bans pagers and walkie-talkies on board its aircraft after wave of explosions in Lebanon

The Emirates airline, the largest in the Middle East, has banned its passengers from carrying pagers and walkie-talkies since Friday October 4, after the wave of explosions in Lebanon in mid-September of these small boxes in an attack against Hezbollah attributed to Israel. According to a company press release, “all passengers traveling on flights to, from or via Dubai [où est basée l’entreprise] are prohibited from carrying pagers and walkie-talkies in their luggage or in the cabin..

Simultaneous explosions of beepers and then walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah, a pro-Iranian Lebanese Islamist movement, left dozens dead and thousands injured in Lebanon on September 17 and 18. These devices were popular with Hezbollah because they allow them to receive messages and sound alerts using their own radio frequency, outside of mobile telephone networks, without the risk of being listened to.

Emirates has also extended the suspension of its flights to Iran and Iraq until Tuesday, and to Lebanon until October 15, while the Israeli army is bombing the country.