Laptop, Tablet Ban on Planes: Officials Decide Against Extension of Ban to EU
There have been talks in recent weeks that the laptop and tablet ban on flights from certain countries would be expanded to include Europe. However, recent news indicate that the ban will not be implemented after all.
According to BBC News, officials from the United States and the European Union have mutually decided not to ban laptops and tablets in the cabin of flights from European countries. Officials reportedly met in Brussels, Belgium, for four hours to examine aviation security. And while they may have decided not to push through with the ban, it has been said that they were still taking other steps into account.
The United States currently does not allow devices "larger than a smartphone" to be stowed in the cabin or submitted as part of carry-on baggage on flights from Turkey, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. This was introduced in March when fears of a bomb being hidden in laptops escalated.
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According to the New York Times, earlier this month, Department of Homeland Security spokesman David Lapan revealed that they would "likely expand the restrictions." There have been concerns that some citizens from the European Union have become radicalized and may even pose as a threat to the United States.
The decision was initially being considered after word spread that laptop parts could be turned into bombs. Moreover, the United States government has had trouble when it comes to recognizing explosives in laptops, with some of them easily passing through security scanners in a conducted test.
Stowing these devices in the hold, however, also prove to be a risk, as British Airline Pilots Association safety expert Steve Landells notes.
"Given the risk of fire from these devices when they are damaged or they short circuit, an incident in the cabin would be spotted earlier and this would enable the crew to react quickly before any fire becomes uncontainable," he said, citing lithium batteries in these gadgets as common perpetrators of fire.
Stay tuned for the latest news and updates.
