New rules for airline passengers traveling to the U.S. take effect today

Thanks to new U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) rules, you can expect to spend more time at the airline boarding gate if you’re traveling to the U.S. Ecuador’s two international airports both reported delays due to the new rules.

The international airport at Guayaquil.

Beginning Wednesday, international airlines flying to the U.S. were required to perform new security checks, including a detailed inspection of all carry-on electronic devices, such as laptop computers, tablets and cell phones.

The TSA says the new measures are the result of heightened international terrorist threats.

In Ecuador, all major air carriers including Delta, Latam, American, Avianca, and Copa, are advising passengers to arrive at airport boarding areas 30 minutes earlier than usual to allow for new security checks. The new checks apply to flights that connect to the U.S. as well as nonstop flights, the airlines say. A spokesman for American Airlines in Quito said that the new regulations apply worldwide, not to just to Ecuador.

Ecuador’s international airports in Quito and Guayaquil both reported longer than usual lines at boarding areas due to the new requirements. Two flights were delayed briefly Wednesday night due to the inspections.

According to the TSA, electronic devices are banned altogether in flights departing for the U.S. from 10 airports in the Middle East and Africa. Those airports include Cairo, Ataturk, King Abdul-Aziz, King Khalid, two airports in Kuwait, Mohammed V, Hamad, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Queen Alia.