As you might have heard, the US government has announced that they will be banning laptops from being brought on board flights entering the US from select Middle Eastern countries. Recently it was also announced that it could be applied to flights coming from the UK, and now they are saying it could expand to Europe.DHS Deputy Secretary Elaine Duke is reported to be flying to Brussels on Wednesday to work out the details about a potential laptop ban with EU officials. This is following a call from last Friday where the Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly spoke with several EU commissioners to discuss the matter.
According to Rick “Ozzie” Nelson who is a former Navy helicopter pilot and national security expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the expansion of the ban suggests that the threat could indeed be very real. “DHS is very aware as an organization the impact a laptop ban like this will have on the public. They don’t pursues these types of bans unless there is significant reliable intelligence.”
Obviously this will present a huge inconvenience to passengers who might need to work while they travel, but given that in the past we have seen how fake iPads can be smuggled on board as a bomb, it is understandable that there are safety concerns.