US, EU Decide Against Laptop Ban On Flights From Europe

The laptop and tablet ban that’s currently in place for some Middle Eastern flights isn’t going to be expanded to cover flights from Europe, US and EU officials have agreed. US officials were interested in expanding restrictions that’d prevent laptops and tablets from being stored in cabin baggage.

A four-hour meeting between the nations in Brussels led to the agreement. Although a ban on that kind of laptop and tablet presence won’t be implemented, officials are still considering other measures.

The US implemented restrictions in March on flights coming from Turkey, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Reports have claimed the authorities learned of an interest from terrorist groups in hiding bombs in larger electronics.

There was a concern from safety officials about placing more large devices in an aircraft’s hold.

If these devices are kept in the hold, the risk is that if a fire occurs the results can be catastrophic; indeed, there have been two crashes where lithium batteries have been cited in the accident reports.– Steve Landells, safety expert, British Airline Pilots Association

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