US and Europe to hold talks on broadening airline laptop ban
washington — US Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly will meet European Commission officials in Brussels next week to discuss prohibiting passengers bound for America from carrying laptops and other electronic devices in airliner cabins.
Kelly on Friday talked with European commissioners Dimitris Avramopoulos and Violeta Bulc. Even though European airports and airlines are preparing for a ban, no action has been announced as officials continue their talks.
Avramopoulos told Kelly that the threat affects the EU and the US in the same way and so the response should be made in common, according to a summary of the conversation provided by a European Commission official. Avramopoulos and Bulc wrote to Kelly earlier in the week to seek more collaboration.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment after the call. There won’t be any announcement on US plans on Friday, DHS spokeswoman Jenny Burke said earlier in the day.
Extending electronics restrictions — now in place for travel from some Middle Eastern and African airports — to Europe would disrupt one of the world’s busiest and most lucrative travel markets just ahead of the peak summer tourism season. It could also prevent business passengers’ ability to work on their laptops on long-haul routes across the Atlantic.
Airline and travel-industry groups are quietly expressing concern about the plan under consideration by US security authorities to broaden the ban.
Two travel trade groups, the Global Business Travel Association and the US Travel Association, issued statements on Thursday saying genuine security risks should be addressed, but also urging the US to be as flexible as possible to minimise disruptions.
“The question remains whether the targeted application of policies banning personal electronics is an effective measure to reduce the risk of terrorism,” Michael McCormick, executive director of the businesstravel group, said in a statement.
More than 3,000 flights are expected to arrive in the US from the European Union each week this summer. The US is the world’s second-largest market for spending on business travel, following China, according to the GBTA. Global spending for business travel topped $1.3 trillion and is projected to reach $1.6 trillion by 2020, the group said.
Earlier this week, European Commission officials took the unusual step of writing to Kelly and US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao urging them to share information about expanded security actions on electronics.
Kelly met US airline officials in Washington on Thursday to discuss details of a possible expansion. The meeting included representatives of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, as well as industry trade group Airlines for America.
US airlines are resigned that a broadened ban on electronics will occur at some point, one industry official said on Friday. The person wasn’t authorised to speak about the ongoing talks with government and asked not to be identified.
The US announced on March 21 that electronic devices larger than smartphones would be banned from cabins on flights originating from eight countries, impacting global hubs including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Istanbul. The action, which affects major carriers such as Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines, resulted from fears that bombs capable of downing an airliner could be hidden in the devices.
DHS is considering an expansion of that order, but no decisions have
DHS continues to evaluate the threat environment and will make changes when necessary to keep air travellers safe Jenny Burke, Spokeswoman of the US Department of Homeland Security
been made, Burke said in an email. “DHS continues to evaluate the threat environment and will make changes when necessary to keep air travellers safe,” she said.
Airline representatives have also expressed their concern to Congress, according to two congressional staffers who asked not to be named because they aren’t authorised to discuss the discussions.
US airlines have been pushing alternative solutions they believe will address security concerns while sidestepping measures that would block business travelers from working on laptops and prevent other fliers from viewing movies or reading books on tablets, according to the staffers and an industry official. The official asked not to be named because he wasn’t authorised to speak about discussions with the government.
Airlines have suggested measures such as asking passengers to turn on their electronic devices and subjecting all devices to explosivedetection swabs. Another strategy might be to use CT X-ray technology, which uses scores of X-ray images from multiple vantage points to provide a higher definition image, the person said. CT is used for checked bags but isn’t available at checkpoints for carry-on luggage.
At the same time, the airlines will do whatever is necessary to address any legitimate security threat, the industry official said. — Bloomberg