The Trump administration is seriously considering to expand its ban on laptops, even in European commercial aircraft. Federal officials are reviewing the safety precautions against the possibility of lithium battery explosion in midair. This might include some new regulations on properly storing the laptop batteries in the passengers' luggage.
If the laptop ban is to be implemented on European trips, this could impact some U.S. airlines that ply the route. These include American Airlines Group, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines. It is apparent that the laptop ban expansion is inevitable since several U.S. and European officials have already confirmed that it is just a matter of time before the U.S. Department of Homeland Security makes an announcement. DHS also stressed that they are doing a threat assessment before they engage the stakeholders on the laptop ban.
There is a scheduled meeting between the DHS top brass and the officials from the airline companies to discuss the details about the proposed laptop ban, according to Reuters. At the same time, Secretary John Kelly is going to conduct a classified briefing with U.S. senators about several domestic threats and other airline issues. A congressional aide talked about the matter to the press but declined to give further details.
To recall, the U.S. has already imposed laptop ban on several airports. These include those who countries from the Middle East such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and UAE. The Homeland Security admits that they worry of bombs that could be disguised in electronic devices such as laptops. According to The Hill, the policy has also affected several carriers from Jordan, Egypt, Kuwait, among others.
Further, there has been a domino effect since the U.S. has set the original laptop ban. The Great Britain imposed a policy of their own, albeit a regulation for a slightly different route. Ironically, the laptop ban has also affected flights from Britain to the Unites States.
