In March, Washington barred all electronic devices larger than a mobile phone on direct flights to the United States from 10 airports in Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa, only allowing them to be transported in hold luggage.

Flag-carrier Turkish Airlines responded to the ban by offering laptops to business-class travellers in May.

The US on Sunday lifted a ban on passengers taking such devices on Etihad Airways flights from its base in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi, the first airliner to benefit from a lift of the ban.

The decision came after the airline implemented enhanced security measures, a spokesman for the US Department of Homeland Security said.

The ban was put into place after intelligence officials learned of efforts by Islamic State jihadists to produce a bomb that could be secreted inside such devices.