US and Europe to hold fresh discussion on laptop ban

Australia said it is considering following the US and Britain with a laptop ban on inbound flights. John Moore / AFP

BRUSSELS // US and European officials will discuss plans on Wednesday to broaden a US ban on in-flight laptops and tablets to include planes from Europe.

The move would create logistical chaos on the world’s busiest corridor of air travel with as many as 65 million people a year travel between Europe and North American.

The ban would dwarf in size the current one, which affects about 50 flights per day from 10 cities, mostly in the Middle East. There is more than 400 daily flights on routes between Europe and North America.

Australia, meanwhile, said it is considering to follow the US and Britain with a laptop ban on inbound flights.

Malcolm Turnbull, the prime minister, said his government was “looking very closely” at the ban on laptops and tablets on flights from some Middle Eastern countries announced by the US and Britain in March.

Mr Turnbull refused to discuss the intelligence upon which a laptop ban was being considered or its source.

“As prime minister protecting our national security and the national interest, I have to be circumspect and discreet on matters of national security,” Mr Turnbull said. “My job is not to feed speculative commentary in the media.”

Airlines have said it is merely a matter of time before a Europe-US ban is put in place, but the prospect has alarmed officials in the European Union, who want to know more about any new threats and the disruption such a move would create.

There is also the question of the relative safety of keeping in the cargo area a large number of electronics with lithium batteries, which have been known to catch fire.

Experts say a bomb in the cabin would be easier to make and require less explosive force than one in the cargo hold. Baggage in cargo usually goes through a more sophisticated screening process than carry-on bags.

Experts say that the original ban focused on certain countries because their equipment to screen carry-on bags is not as effective as machines in the US.

Officials from the US Department of Homeland Security met last week with high-ranking executives of the three leading US airlines — American, Delta and United — and the industry’s leading US trade group to discuss expanding the laptop policy to flights arriving from Europe.

The airlines still hope to have a say in how the policy is put into effect at airports to minimise inconvenience to passengers.

The US ban on laptops and tablets affects flights from Amman, Kuwait City, Cairo, Istanbul, Jeddah, Riyadh, Casablanca, Doha, and Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The British security rules apply to flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.

* Associated Press