DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Long-haul carrier Emirates says it is starting new screening procedures for U.S.-bound passengers following it receiving "new security guidelines" from American authorities.

Emirates said in a statement Wednesday that it would begin doing "pre-screening interviews" at its check-in counters for passengers flying out of Dubai and at boarding gates for transit and transfer fliers.

The airline said that comes on top of other security measures it conducts.

The new procedures come after the Trump administration's previous ban on laptops in airplane cabins for some Mideast airlines. That, coupled with the travel ban, has hurt Middle Eastern airlines.

Emirates, the region's biggest, said it slashed 20 per cent of its flights to America in the wake of the restrictions.

It wasn't immediately clear if other Mideast airlines were affected.—AP