Saudi Arabian Airlines and Royal Jordanian Airlines said they received “instructions from the concerned US departments” to require passengers to check all electronic devices except cellphones and medical devices on all nonstop flights to the US.

Both carriers posted alerts online, but Royal Jordanian took its tweet down after several hours.

The airlines apparently are not the only targets of the new rule, however; CNN reported that “a US official” confirmed that several carriers from the Middle Eastern and Africa had received the instructions.

The ban on electronics in the cabin applies to cameras, tablets, laptops, electronic games and any other device that is larger than a cellphone.

US airlines are not affected because they do not fly nonstop from the countries involved.

The rule is effective March 21, when a formal announcement is expected.

Ironically, neither Jordan nor Saudi Arabia was included in the list of countries whose citizens would have been barred from entering the US for 90 days under President Trump’s would-be travel ban.

Also ironic is that checked bags are not always the safest place for electronic devices.

In 1988, Pan Am 103 was taken down over Lockerbie, Scotland, by a plastic explosive in a small radio-cassette “boom box” that was carried in a checked bag. All 243 passengers and 16 crew, as well as 11 people on the ground, were killed.

NB: Airline electronic devices image via BigStock.