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 has issued a directive barring passengers on flights to the U.S. from 10 Middle Eastern and African airports from carrying large electronic devices on board. The order, issued March 20, takes effect on March 25 and requires that passengers place any electronic device larger than a cell phone in their checked baggage. It does not affect any U.S. airlines because none of them fly directly from the airports on the list.


The airports, located in eight majority-Muslim countries, include Dubai International Airport and Abu Dhabi International Airport and Hamad International Airport in Doha, the respective bases of Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, all of whom coincidentally have come under fire from U.S. airlines and various lobbying groups for receiving what they consider unfair government support. The others involve Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Cairo International Airport, Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Kuwait International Airport and Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca.


According to DHS, new intelligence drove the decision to institute the new ban. “The U.S. Government is concerned about terrorists’ ongoing interest in targeting commercial aviation, including transportation hubs over the past two years, as evidenced by the 2015 airliner downing in Egypt, the 2016 attempted airliner downing in Somalia, and the 2016 armed attacks against airports in Brussels and Istanbul,” it said in a statement. “Evaluated intelligence indicates that terrorist groups continue to target commercial aviation, to include smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items.”


The order comes just a few days after federal judges in Hawaii and Maryland blocked an attempt by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to ban nationals from six majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S. The order, which would have taken effect on March 15, listed Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Yemen. However, it excluded Iraq, which appeared on the list of countries the Trump Administration published in its first attempt to ban nationals from what it considered security threats in late January. A federal judge in Seattle thwarted that effort as well.&nbsp;

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