Gregory Polek has spent his entire career in aviation journalism with AIN, starting as a proofreader and assistant to then-managing editor Mary Mahoney in 1995 after serving an internship with&nbsp;New Jersey Monthly&nbsp;magazine and completing his B.A. degree in English/Writing at New Jersey’s William Paterson College. By 1997 Polek accepted a position as an associate editor, covering the regional airline beat for&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;in place of retiring industry veteran Don Anderson. The assignment took Polek across North America and Europe to profile regional airlines varying in size and mission from the likes of floatplane operators Kenmore Air and Chalk’s Ocean Airways to regional jet operators such as SkyWest and American Eagle. Today, in his dual role as Air Transport Editor and International Airshow Editor, Polek writes, edits, and manages AIN’s commercial aviation content while overseeing each of the company’s daily international air show publications in Paris, Farnborough, Singapore, and Dubai. Most recently Polek has assumed oversight of daily coverage of the Helicopter Association International’s annual Heli-Expo convention.

Senior Editor

Gregory Polek

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Wednesday lifted its ban on large electronic devices in the cabins of airliners arriving in the U.S. from Riyadh, effectively ending a program begun some four months ago to limit personal electronics larger than a cell phone on flights originating from 10 Middle Eastern and North African airports. Saudi Arabian Airlines stood as the last carrier affected by the ban after the DHS lifted the restrictions on flights out of Dubai International Airport and Abu Dhabi International Airport in the UAE, Hamad International Airport in Doha, Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Cairo International Airport, Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Kuwait International Airport and Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca.&nbsp;

 


The exemptions follow the DHS’s institution of&nbsp;“enhanced” security protocols including increased scrutiny of laptop computers at screening points at some 280 airports in 105 countries in lieu of a planned expansion of the ban to flights originating in Europe. The measures instituted by the U.S. on June 28 included enhancing overall passenger screening, the establishment of more preclearance locations, increased security protocols around aircraft and in passenger areas and the expansion of canine screening. The DHS said it would work with so-called stakeholders to ensure the full implementation of the measures “over the next several weeks and months.” Airlines and airports that fail to adopt the new requirements within certain time frames run the risk of the DHS imposing further unnamed security restrictions, said the agency.

 


The UK, meanwhile, continues to ban laptops and other larger devices in the cabins of airplanes originating from a list of Middle Eastern and North African countries. The UK directive bans electronic devices larger than a cell phone and applies to airplanes departing from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia and Egypt. It affects 14 airlines, including six based in the UK.

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News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

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News and developments about everything that goes into the cabin of an aircraft, from floor coverings to headliners, with a special emphasis on in-flight entertainment, communications and other electronics for passengers. If it is in the cabin of an aircraft, it’s covered here.

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