PHOTO: US to ban passengers from carrying laptops into aircraft either coming to US or out
United States are putting measures in place, which could likely see a ban on laptops from aircraft cabins on all flights into and out of
the country as part of a ramped-up effort to protect against potential security
threats, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said on Sunday.
In an interview on "Fox News Sunday,"
Kelly said the United States planned to "raise the bar" on airline
security, including tightening screening of carry-on items.
"That's the thing that they are obsessed with,
the terrorists, the idea of knocking down an airplane in flight, particularly
if it's a U.S. carrier, particularly if it's full of U.S. people."
In March, the government imposed restrictions on
large electronic devices in aircraft cabins on flights from 10 airports,
including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Turkey.
Kelly said the move would be part of a broader
airline security effort to combat what he called "a real sophisticated
threat." He said no decision had been made as to the timing of any ban.
"We are still following the
intelligence," he said, "and are in the process of defining this, but
we're going to raise the bar generally speaking for aviation much higher than
it is now."
Airlines are concerned that a broad ban on laptops
may erode customer demand. But none wants an incident aboard one of its
airplanes.
"Whatever comes out, we'll have to comply
with," Oscar Munoz, chief executive officer of United Airlines ,told the
company's annual meeting last week.
Airlines were blindsided in January when President
Donald Trump issued an executive order banning entry for 90 days to citizens
from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, sending airlines
scrambling to determine who could board and who could not. The order was later
blocked in the courts.
In the case of laptops, the administration is
keeping the industry in the loop. Delta Air Lines said in a statement it
"continues to be in close contact with the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security," while Munoz applauded the administration for giving the company
a "heads up."
"We've had constant updates on the
subject," he said. "We know more than most. And again, if there's a
credible threat out there, we need to make sure we take the appropriate
measures."
MORE SCRUTINY OF CARRY-ONS
Among the enhanced security measures will likely be
tighter screening of carry-on items to allow Transport Security Administration
agents to discern problematic items in tightly stuffed bags.
Kelly said that in order to avoid paying fees for
checking bags, people were stuffing them to the point where it was difficult to
see through the clutter.
"The more stuff is in there, the less the TSA
professionals that are looking at what's in those bags through the monitors can
tell what's in them."
The TSA has begun testing certain new procedures at
a limited number of airports, requiring people to remove additional items from
carry-on bags for separate screenings.
Asked whether the government would expand such
measures nationwide, Kelly said: "We might, and likely will.
Source: Reuters
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