Brace for Chaos If U.S. Expands Airline Laptop Ban

The trans-Atlantic flight could soon become a gadget-free zone if U.S. officials press forward with a security ban on laptop computers and other larger electronic devices on airline flights from Europe, according to Bloomberg.

Carriers are bracing for operational chaos at European airports after the Department of Homeland Security said last week it might expand to Europe a ban imposed in March on U.S.-bound flights from 10 Middle Eastern airports. The new security protocol could mean longer security lines, heightened delays, boarding gate confusion, and yet more hassles for fliers.

“I think it’s going to be extremely chaotic,“ said Rich Roth, executive director of CTI Consulting, a security firm that focuses on aviation. He predicts that airlines, airports, and European officials will press the DHS to review its analysis of the trans-Atlantic threat, hoping for a more lenient strategy than the currently envisioned ban. “I think they went a little bit overboard in their risk assessment,“ said Roth.

While companies won’t abandon trans-Atlantic trips, an electronics ban may dampen corporate travel when combined with other recent regulations that have made traveling more onerous. When faced with having to part with their computers, potentially putting sensitive corporate information at risk, some companies may tell employees to leave their computers at home. The threat of laptop loss, be it theft, damage, or misplacement as checked luggage, is likely to make some companies consider whether some meetings can be conducted via Skype or other virtual methods. That may be bad news for airlines who count heavily on business travel for profitability.

The U.K. has imposed a similar ban, but on fewer airports. Canadian officials don’t ban cabin electronics on flights to Canada. The nation’s aviation regulator, Transport Canada, isn’t considering any new aviation security measures, agency spokeswoman said.

The current U.S. approach on the proposal, flights to America pose a threat but not the reverse, implies that the Trump administration considers U.S. airport security superior to that of European or Middle Eastern nations. While security coordination between U.S. and European officials could lead to a policy affecting all trans-Atlantic flights. Another outcome might be a unilateral U.S. electronics ban followed by the same EU decision affecting flights from America.

Flying mountains of electronic devices with lithium-ion batteries in airline cargo holds presents a risk of fire. FedEx and UPS forbid large commercial shipments of these batteries after in-flight combustion caused two jumbo jets to crash in 2010 and 2011. Last year, the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization prohibited cargo shipments of lithium-ion batteries aboard passenger aircraft. Pilots unions and others had pressed for the ban, given the fires, and some have questioned whether even smaller consumer devices powered by the same batteries should also be allowed in checked luggage.

Smelling smoke and fighting fires in the cabin is easier than finding one in the airplane cargo hold, and any U.S. decision on expanding the laptop ban should consider the battery implications. In terms of reducing airport hassles, airlines have raised at least two ideas with U.S. officials: Performing explosives trace detection on every item brought into the airline cabin and installing smaller CT scanners at some airport gates. This type of scan is used on checked luggage but not at passenger checkpoints.