Laptop ban will not hit flights from Europe, officials rule

Worldwide air travelers might soon rediscover magazines, paperbacks and playing cards.

The ban applies to laptops, tablets, e-book readers and cameras.

For example, he questioned why airports listed in the USA and United Kingdom bans don’t match and how one can consider laptops secure in the cabin of some flights and not others, particularly on flights originating at the same airport.

A BBC report on Thursday said that USA and European Union officials have decided not to expand the laptop ban to Europe, after a four-hour meeting.

A broader ban on carry-on laptops, tablets, and other electronic devices on all flights from Europe would affect 390 flights a day, or more than 2,500 a week, IATA said.

The officials agreed to meet again next week.

The ban was introduced following intelligence that terrorist plans were afoot to hide bombs inside the cavities of laptop computers. USA officials called the threat critical but stopped short of any new action.

While the current USA ban affects 350 flights per week, the expansion of the ban to Europe as a whole would affect more than 2,500, estimates IATA.

Both the USA and United Kingdom now have a ban on all electronics bigger than a smartphone on flights coming from several countries in the Middle East.

At the Delta area of the Cincinnati airport, a sign warned passengers that beginning Friday on flights returning to the us any electronic devices other than a cellphone would have to be placed in checked baggage.

Chief among the Europeans’ concerns is the fire risk from placing hundreds of devices with lithium-ion batteries in the hold.

Instead, the trade group suggested, regulators could increase the testing of passengers and their bags and electronic devices for traces of explosives, boost the use of explosive-sniffing dogs and deploy more security agents to interrogate travelers.

Business travelers are keenly interested in the outcome.

Kelly has not made a final decision on extending the ban but the department still believes an expansion is likely, a spokesman said on Tuesday. They must be stowed in checked bags or transferred to the cargo area of the plane before departure.

The International Air Transport Association said the ban would cost $1.1 billion in lost productivity and added travel time.

In the IATA’s letter, de Juniac said airlines are anxious about increased costs due to the extra baggage handling the new rule would require and the subsequent departure delays.

“It’s always incumbent on us to figure out where those who wish to do us harm are going to next and try to stop that”. Such devices would have to be packed in checked luggage.

A 1 percent shift in business travel costs could lead to the loss of 71,000 jobs, almost $5 billion in economic growth, $3 billion in wages and $1.2 billion in tax collections, according to the GBTA. “That’s one of the options. You’re connected to your laptop”.

Who knew a laptop could be so controversial? “We are not sure that this ban is adapted to the threat”. And it backs the use of so-called trusted traveler programs, which enable people to clear airport security on an expedited basis, and to expand other pre-flight security screenings.

Small business consultant Gene Marks said he and many of his clients work when flying to and from Europe.

“I would be more anxious if there was a bomb on my flight”, Marks said.

The British Airline Pilots’ Association said the U.S. plan was potentially “catastrophic”. These travelers are often required to keep their company-issued electronics with them on a plane, and are told not to check laptops or other electronics. “Maybe this is a good excuse to rely a bit less on electronics for both parents and kids”.