Israel Emirates bans pagers and walkie-talkies from aircraft

The airline Emirates has banned the carrying of pagers and walkie-talkies on its aircraft. "All passengers traveling on flights to, from or via Dubai are not permitted to carry pagers or walkie-talkies in their checked or carry-on baggage," it said in a statement on the airline's website. If such items are found, they will be confiscated by the Dubai police, it added.

Numerous pagers and walkie-talkies belonging to the Iran-aligned Shia militia Hezbollah in Lebanon exploded in September. At least 39 people were killed and around 3,000 injured, some of them seriously. The majority of the victims were Hezbollah members. However, there were also civilian victims.

The militia used the cell phone precursors to avoid being located by Israel. Although pagers cannot be used to make phone calls, they can be used to receive messages. According to reports, the Israeli secret service Mossad manipulated the devices and detonated them.

SDA