‘US can decide in coming weeks on laptop ban on flights from Europe’

The US government may make a decision in the next few weeks on extending the ban on laptops in the cabin of passenger planes departing from European airports to US destinations.

According to sources within the US Department of Homeland Security, officials are weighing the pros and cons of the measure. Several officials have said a decision could follow within weeks. That reports CBS News. This means that it may soon become clear whether the ban on laptops and electronics larger than a smartphone will also apply to flights departing from European airports.

The potential ban on carrying laptops and other electronics larger than cell phones would expand on the already existing ban imposed in March on a dozen countries whose populations are predominantly Muslim. These are major airports located in Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Kuwait, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. It is not clear why the US may want to extend this ban to Europe.

Members of the government have held weekly meetings with US airlines, according to the sources. It is not clear why these consultations continue to take place. The current ban is in effect for flights departing from airports in the mentioned Arab countries. American airlines are not affected by this, because they do not fly from these airports. Only Egyptair, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Kuwait Airways, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Turkish Airlines are affected by the ban.

The United Kingdom has also already imposed such a ban on electronic devices on flights from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey. Passengers are only allowed to take devices larger than smartphones in checked baggage. The US government has banned it because the government suspects that otherwise terrorists could smuggle bombs in electronics on board.

It was previously announced that the US government is considering extending this ban to Europe. A spokesman for the US Department of Homeland Security then told The Guardian that a final decision on extending the measure has not yet been made, that the government continues to evaluate the threat assessment and that decisions will be made based on that.