The US has again floated the idea of banning passengers from carrying anything larger than a smartphone into the cabin of an airplane.
Homeland Secretary John Kelly raised the possibility during an interview with Fox News, saying he may ban the carrying of laptops into cabins on all flights into the US.
Earlier this month, the BBC reported that, after talks, US and EU officials had postponed any decision on extending the ban to flights from EU member-states into the US.
There has been speculation that the reason behind the ban, which the US originally introduced in March, was due to the theft of X-ray equipment used for screening baggage.
{loadposition sam08}The Wall Street Journal quoted Kelly as saying, in response to questions whether the ban could be extended to include all international flights, "I might…. there’s a real threat. That’s really the thing that they are obsessed with, the terrorists, the idea of knocking down an airplane in flight."
The WSJ cited a survey by the Airline Passenger Experience Association, a trade group, that showed that 43% of global passengers carried a tablet aboard, and 70% of this group used them during the flight.
The study also found that 38% of global passengers carried laptops on board, and 42% of these passengers used the devices.
The ban on carrying anything larger than a mobile phone on one's person while flying came into force in March. The US move was promptly followed by the UK, but the two countries banned a differing list of airlines, with the latter including some British carriers as well.
The airports hit by the US ban are: Queen Alia International Airport (Jordan), Cairo International Airport (Egypt), Ataturk International Airport (Turkey), King Abdul-Aziz International Airport (Saudi Arabia), King Khalid International Airport (Saudi Arabia), Kuwait International Airport, Mohammed V Airport (Morocco), Hamad International Airport (Qatar), Dubai International Airport (United Arab Emirates) and Abu Dhabi International Airport (United Arab Emirates).
The UK ban affects Middle Eastern carriers Royal Jordanian Airlines, Egypt Air, Turkish Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Kuwait Airways , Royal Air Maroc, Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways. British carrier affected are British Airways, EasyJet, Jet2.com, Monarch, Thomas Cook, Thomson. Foreign carriers affected are Pegasus Airways, Atlas-Global Airlines, Middle East Airlines, Tunis Air and Saudia.