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U.S. may soon ban laptops on all international flights

by 16 Comments

Shortly after implementing electronics ban from eight Muslim countries, the ban may soon take effect on all international flights to and from the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has recently announced that this decision might take place. The reason is continuous terrorist threats to bring down airplanes. Therefore, the expanded electronics ban could soon take place in order to increase the security of the passengers.

According to Bloomberg, the Department of Homeland Security has been in talks with European Commission about expanding the ban to cover the flights to and from Europe. The talks have been in progress ever since the initial ban that took place in March, but the final decision has not yet been made.

In addition to extending the electronics ban, Kelly said that the control of the carry-on luggage will become stricter as well. According to him, people cram more stuff in the carry-on to avoid bag-checking fees, and “the more you stuff in there, the less the TSA professionals that are looking at what’s in those bags through the monitors.” Personally, I would have to respectfully disagree with Mr. Kelly about the reason for packing electronics in the carry-on. In my case, it’s never been because of the fees. I just feel the gear’s safer with me, and not being thrown around together with the suitcase.

Finally, Kelly has mentioned the possibility that the airports will soon use new scanners, which will help avoid the strict procedures. With such scanners, according to Bloomberg, the staff will be much more efficient in discovering explosives. If this would become standard at the airports, then there would be no need for the electronics ban and other strict procedures. Unfortunately, it wasn’t said when these scanners could be used. So until then, it’s possible you might need to transport your electronics in the check-in luggage wherever you fly from the U.S.

How do you feel about these new possible measures of security? Will they affect you, considering that this would cover much more flights? And has the electronics ban affected you so far? Share your thoughts and experience in the comments.

[via Bloomberg]

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  • Ridiculous and ineffective measure. I wonder if first class passengers will be treated the same way.

  • Jester

    FAKE THREAT ! The other 5-i countries plus all of Europe ( except the UK which has implemented a smaller modified version for the sake of appeasing Trump ) have all refused to implement any sort of electronics ban, that alone should spelled out how stupid these proposals truly are… Ratcheting up the fake threat in order for the US Administration to look as though they’re being tough is all this is…

    Kind of like how Trump, this past weekend, called out Germany for unfair auto sales into the US, all the while forgetting that the German’s manufacture almost a million vehicles IN the US and directly employee Americans….

  • Um…that’s gonna cramp some style.

    A slight [additional] problem is that laptops and lithium-ion batteries are not allowed in checked luggage. (This saved me one time when the airline was forcing all passengers to check their carryon for a flight…I walked up to the supervisor, told her I had $X-amount of photography gear in my case – rounding up to the nearest $5k – and made sure to add that it included “a TON of lithium-ion batteries.” They found room for it in the flight crew’s closet up front.)

    So, how are photographers (and many other professionals) supposed to be able to travel and have all the tools they need on the other end? Do we just buy a new laptop once we’re overseas and then toss it in the trash can before our return flight? What about business professionals who carry everything they need for short trips in a single carryon bag?

    PEOPLE are threats, not objects. On one trip, my carryon case was flagged for additional screening (usually happens when traveling with gear), so a very nice lady from the TSA (seriously…she was genuinely pleasant) had to inspect my gear, swab lenses and camera bodies for explosives, etc. However, this time I completely forgot that I had a box cutter in my case…which went totally undetected by both x-ray AND physical inspection. But I was no threat to anyone and boarded the plane forgetting I had never taken it out at home. In fact, I didn’t even remember it was in there until my return trip when some Central American security officer decided to remove literally everything from my Pelican case and inspect it thoroughly. When he found the knife, he grabbed it, shook it in my face, and with a look the mixture of smug satisfaction and pure hatred he demanded in broken English, “What this? What this?!” I showed him how to remove the razor blade, chucked it in the trash, and was eventually allowed to piece all of my stuff back together on the floor of the security checkpoint.

    The expansion of TSA regulations over the years has done nothing to improve actual security but rather simply provides an illusion of security. We endlessly harass grandmothers who forgot to take their nail file out of their purse, we grope children and call it a “pat-down,” and, God-forbid, we never EVER even think of profiling anybody (because…just…God forbid). Israel’s individual and behavioral approach to threat assessment is far superior…and, frankly, if given the choice between having to meet a highly-skilled and specially-trained agent (as in Israel’s case) or a TSA staff member who acts about as professional as a high school sophomore working the McDonald’s drive-through during homecoming, I’ll take the one with a degree and a background in profiling.

    Wow…THAT escalated quickly. I’m going fishing.

    • Fred Smith

      It is a major inconvenience, for sure. But what is the alternative? This is about terrorism and reliable intelligence. Intelligence confirms the terrorists figured out how to make very destructive bombs out of laptops, so now we must all suffer. If you want to stop the inconveniences you have to stop the people who want to kill us (global jihadists).

  • Yeah put them in the hold….if there really is a bomb in it then it’s still going to take the plane down…brain dead yanks.hahahaha

  • That’s just asinine. Who DOESN’T carry a laptop on a plane? There are laptops the size of tablets and there are tablets that are both. How would you even draw the line? There are thousands of people who just need them to pass time and thousands others that need them for their daily business, regardless of class. If all the machines and security airports have, then they need to put a better system in place, instead of looking for ways to further inconvenience the every day passenger. Between this kind of nonsense, lengthy and time-consuming security check points and greedy airlines, at one point I wonder if we aren’t the ones who should be getting paid.

    • It’s not about security, it’s about Power tripping. Obsessed with control. Current security arrangements are perfectly fine.

    • It’s the Trump-era witch hunt. Are they going to start banning smart watches too? What about compact cameras, or DSLRs, or pretty much anything that has a circuit and a battery (which are a LOT of things, even some shoes the kids wear). If this gets passed it will only be the exclamation mark which will brand this as the most nonsensical, power-hungry, paranoid era in the history of mankind. No wonder some comedy acts refuse to write poltical jokes, reality is jaw dropping as it is.

  • Looks like no one will be travelling in or out of the US soon… good job Trump, you just killed the US!

    • JoeFunny30

      The laptop ban was announced before Trump.

  • Mostly the reason they were banned from flights from the Middle East is to give American carriers who mostly do their stopovers in Asia a competitive advantage.
    Why fly Etihad or Emirates if you can’t bring a laptop. Fly a US carrier through Asia and you can bring your laptop.

  • I don’t see where Trump is responsible. I remember back in the 80’s before I got on an aircraft just to fly within California, security wanted to hear music come out of my Walkman before allowing me to get to the gate

  • David White

    Control, control, control is all control

  • I would just stop flying places where they are banned … easy peasy .. I am not leaving it my checked in bag, since bags are mistreated, and I am not going anywhere without my laptop… sooo… nope.

  • Sai Leong

    Yup. An inconvenience that will require advance planning and research as to how where and such with large qty of batteries. Early 90’s security gave me a hard time with the 36 AA batteries I was carrying aboard to power my Sega portable during a multi month trip to the U.K. (saved $ vs buying batteries in GBP – very unfavorable rate).

    But for those who think it’s an extreme measure to ban items that ‘could remotely be a threat’ or security screening that could be excessive… please lobby your government representative to allow a new level of air travel – ‘unsecured class’ with no screening of luggage and passengers. It will be piloted by drones and food and beverages will be self serve from on board vending machines as no crew will want to be aboard that plane. Hey – no one will be dragged off the flight! All tickets will be sold via eBay auction, with a reserve set of course. But they will only fly over unpopulated areas. Purchase will be an agreement not to sue for ANY reason.

    What may seem to be ‘extreme’ or ‘stupor’ measures are used to not only detect but to deter after (often) hard lessons are learned. Please read up on history. Why am I asked to Turn on my laptop/device and prove it is what is looks to be? – Pan Am 103 was brought down by an explosive planted inside a Toshiba cassette player in checked luggage aboard Pan Am 103. Box cutters – used to attack flight crew on 9/11. ‘Did anyone give you anything to bring on the plane’ – English girl given a package by her boyfriend to take across the ocean. Boyfriend was of middle eastern origin. Package was a bomb. Taking off shoes at checkpoint – thank you attempted ‘shoe-bomber’.

    Took me three transatlantic crossings to realize my leather jacket was the cause for me to get frisked at the gate before boarding in the months after 9/11. I was a business class traveler…Gold status on British Airways. I didn’t mind. I just switched to a less ‘threatening look’ afterwards and frisking ended.

    So please – push for an unsecured class. You’re either going do security all the way or not at all – there truly no ‘happy middle’. Israel does it right – but we in the US have waaaay more territory (e.g. airports) to cover… not possible to recruit and train enough profilers to effectely screen at every check point.

  • Ahmet

    Two weeks ago the tiny allen key set of mine was confiscated at the airport. It was in my bag to tighten the tripod screws. it was there for years. Now they discovered. I just wondered how dangerous it is to have those on the plane. Can I disassemble the plane mid-flight with them or what? Not that it is a big thing but now I’m totally at loss what is dangerous an what not. Meanwhile on business class you get metal cutlery… Yeah, I get it, terrorists are poor, they can’t afford that.

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