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Laptop ban on Europe-US flights? It could be happening

EU and US officials were debating the measure today.

TOP US AND EU officials have traded intelligence on what they called “serious evolving threats” to airline security as Washington mulls banning carry-on computers on flights from Europe.

Both sides said they intended to hold more talks next week in Washington on a possible ban of such equipment.

“Both sides exchanged information on the serious evolving threats to aviation security and approaches to confronting such threats,” a joint statement said.

They discussed “existing aviation security standards and detection capabilities” as well as security improvements “related to large electronic devices placed in checked baggage,” it added.

The US Department of Homeland Security sparked deep concern in Europe last week when it said it would soon decide on extending to European airlines a carry-on computer ban on flights from eight mostly Muslim countries.

EU commissioners took part in what US officials said were four hours of “robust” talks with a US delegation led by Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke.

But a senior US administration official told reporters on a conference call that there were points of agreement and points they were continuing to discuss.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly was mulling “next steps” and would make any decision based on an evaluation of threats, the official said on condition of anonymity.

“Secretary Kelly has made no decision on expanding the restriction on large electronic devices in aircraft cabins, but the decision is currently under consideration,” the senior official said.

A US ban on now ubiquitous laptops could cause havoc, with more than 3,250 flights a week scheduled to leave EU airports for the US this summer, according to industry data.

Some experts also say there is a security risk in putting them with checked luggage given the danger of their batteries catching fire.

In March, Washington banned passengers from eight countries in North Africa and the Middle East from bringing laptop computers, tablets and other electronic devices larger than cellphones as carry-on items.

The UK followed with a similar ban applying to incoming flights from six Middle East and North African countries.

The move, which requires passengers to put the devices into checked baggage, came amid concerns that jihadist groups were devising bombs disguised as batteries in consumer electronics items.

A bomb that blew a hole in the fuselage of a Somali airliner in February 2016, killing one person, is believed to have been built into a laptop computer carried into the passenger cabin.

© – AFP 2017

Read: Flying to the US soon? You may soon be banned from using your laptop >

Read: Is it bad if you keep your laptop plugged in all the time? >

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    Mute Nick Allen
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    May 17th 2017, 10:07 PM

    Happy days! A little bit of peace away from work when flying to the US

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    Mute Ryan Carroll
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    May 17th 2017, 10:18 PM

    CBP/ICE/BP have become Americans SS, avoid taking your laptops and smart phones to the US with you if you can, not only are they downloading the contents they are demanding social media handles, asking your political and religious opinions (previously against the guidelines) etc

    Keep in mind BP is allowed stop you even after you leave the airport and are on the streets, something they never used to do. They have gone nuts since Trump came in, previous policy was to concentrate scarce resources or criminal immigrants, now they are trying to inflate figures so going for the easy answers to pump up his base, and the FBI had a damming report leaked about how those agencies have been infiltrated (ironically given they are part of DHS) with white supremacists and right wing terrorist affiliates because it afford them a place to legally bash the darkies.
    Being white will mean you won’t get deported on a trumped up charge, but it won’t stop them downloading your data or harrasing you
    The US is turning into a dark and scary place.

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    Mute Nick Allen
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    May 17th 2017, 11:01 PM

    @Ryan Carroll:
    Yawn

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    Mute John R
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    May 18th 2017, 7:54 AM

    @Nick Allen: good man Mick. A great considered intellectual response. Hope you don’t get pulled yourself. Yawn.

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    Mute Davor Niksic
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    May 18th 2017, 2:45 PM

    @Ryan Carroll: Flew Dublin – SF a short while ago, no one asked me any unnecessary questions or was interested in the content of my phone or laptop.

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    Mute Joe Dobias
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    May 17th 2017, 11:08 PM

    So it’s fine to have a bomb (sorry laptop battery) in the cargo hold but not on the passenger deck? How does that make any sense at all? Please do explain!

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    Mute Peter Cavey
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    May 17th 2017, 11:18 PM

    @Joe Dobias: I want to know this too.

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    Mute Ger
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    May 18th 2017, 2:18 AM

    @Joe Dobias: exactly! You could set off a bomb concealed in a laptop in the cargo hold remotely using your phone which is allowed on board. They have to be seen to be doing something but this won’t keep anyone any safer.

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    Mute Tony Daly
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    May 18th 2017, 8:14 AM

    @Ger: or primed with an altitude trigger, timer, or other rudimentary control device such as temperature.

    It’s hard to understand the “logic”.

    I recently had a designer lead crystal glass vase confiscated as a security risk because it set off the scanner. When I was informed that it had to be seized, I started laughing at the absurdity of the action, looking for the candid camera. The security staff got very heated and angry because of my amusement. No doubt it is adorning the shelf of a security staff member or their superior.

    My trousers belt seems to attract a lot of security attention.

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    Mute Kevin Barry
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    May 18th 2017, 9:09 AM

    @Joe Dobias: The containers used for baggage are designed in such a way that should an explosion occur in them that the force of the blast is absorbed and dissipated by the flexible explosion resistant materials.
    Discovery channel often shows documentaries that demonstrate how this works.

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    Mute Paul Kelly
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    May 17th 2017, 10:22 PM
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    Mute Dave Thomas
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    May 17th 2017, 10:27 PM

    @Paul Kelly: maybe it was samsungs new model…

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    Mute damian
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    May 17th 2017, 10:49 PM

    @Paul Kelly: If the battery is damaged or faulty it can definitely happen. The odds are quite low, but as you have seen, it’s possible.

    Having laptops in the cabin is a lot safer than having them in the hold. The solution to this is better screening of hand baggage and laptops when entering the air-side of the airport… not putting hundreds of lithium ion batteries in a small space in the hold where the fire suppression systems are not good at dealing with fires from lithium ion batteries! If they had brains, they’d be dangerous!

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    Mute Watcher-on-the-Wall
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    May 17th 2017, 11:07 PM

    @damian: Absolutely. If one laptop in the cabin is a bomb, then it’s a small bomb. If it’s packed in the hold with a couple of hundred other lithium ion battery powered devices, then it’s a big bomb. They’re playing into terrorists’ hands…

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    Mute Joe Dobias
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    May 17th 2017, 11:10 PM

    @Watcher-on-the-Wall: or it was a cheap Chinese knock off battery. Same like chargers. They are cheap for a reason..

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    Mute Roger Clarke
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    May 18th 2017, 7:30 AM

    Imagine the field day the thieves will have stealing laptops from your luggage and the airlines won’t give a toss. I’d imagine may corporations will have some issues with their execs losing their laptops.

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    Mute John Roche
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    May 17th 2017, 11:35 PM

    Why do we always have to produce a laptop anyway at security? what else would they need to check for?

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    Mute Aaron Gibson
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    May 18th 2017, 9:11 AM

    @John Roche: nudes

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    Mute Tony Daly
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    May 18th 2017, 8:19 AM

    I suspect that most peole would not travel with their laptop.

    The solution is a small but high memory fast speed USB key with the entire OS and data image of your laptop and which you can use to operate a local laptop at destination.

    The other solution is not to travel and to use VC instead but that is not effective for sales and developing new commercial relationships.

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    Mute Amy Wallis
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    May 18th 2017, 8:38 AM

    @Tony Daly: a large problem here is the amount of people travelling on business to the US who often need to work during the long flights. Let alone the hours you spend in the airport before boarding.

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    Mute Carol Oates
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    May 18th 2017, 10:15 AM

    @Tony Daly: It’s not only businesses affected. A lot of people with special needs use laptops and other large screen devices on flights to help them cope and in some cases communicate. My son doesn’t but I carry his laptop in flight because it would be the end of the world for him if it was lost or stolen, or damaged(have you seen how luggage handlers throw bags about?) during travel. Travelling with a usb wouldn’t cut it for his needs.

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