Roger Fingas
Officials from the U.S. and the European Union have reportedly decided against a ban on travelers carrying devices like Apple iPads and MacBooks in the cabin while on flights from Europe.
The decision came after a four-hour meeting in Brussels discussing threats to aviation, according to the BBC. Previously, the U.S. was considering expanding a phone and tablet ban imposed on flyers from Turkey, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.
Instead the U.S. and E.U. are considering alternate measures for dealing with threats against airlines, officials said.
Concerns had been raised about possible bomb plots using converted laptops, although no specific threats have been shared with the public. The U.K. also imposed a similar ban on six countries.
While reasons for rejecting the European ban are unknown, one may be worries about keeping so many lithium-ion batteries together in a plane's cargo hold. If a fire were to break out, the damage could be lethal, especially since the crew would have a hard time reacting — if at all.
Such a ban might also create chaos given the number of business and tourist travelers who cross the Atlantic each day. Making sure electronics are checked would likely hamper already slow times at airports like Heathrow, Schiphol, and Tegel, and generate many complaints from people wanting to do work or at least be entertained on 7- to 8-hour flights.
Similar complaints have been made in the Middle East, but European traffic may be considered too big to ignore and only an indirect threat to the U.S.
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14 Comments
Perhaps they should go back to the policies of having the devices turned on and examined by a human in addition to x-rays. I think it would be pretty difficult to put an explosive inside a laptop and still have it operate normally. Better than just checking it in the luggage. They shouldn't even let you check it in as luggage because it would pass the luggage scan but could potentially be a bomb in disguise. I fly a lot and these terrorists really worry me.
FYI: Headline says one thing, ("phones & tablets") and article another ("devices like Apple iPads and MacBooks") so I have to go now to other sites to be sure I know what's what.
Actually, the cargo topic is valid: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/UPS_Airlines_Flight_6
Other than that: good that Apple appears to take product validation serious such that iOS devices in general can be taken off the list of potential hazards in flight.
I think that this is only a temporary stay.
In the long term certain TLA's will want people to fly in orange jumpsuits (bare feet naturally) chained to their seats and with no baggage in the hold or cabin.
Just because it might be possible to do something bad while flying.