There’s bad news for those of us who like to read on our kindle or iPad on flights. US Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly says the “laptop ban” could be extended in the near future, which applies not only to laptops but devices bigger than a mobile phone.
Kelly said on Fox News Sunday he would consider extending the laptop ban to all United States flights, including international flights to and from the US.
When asked by the host, “Are you going to ban laptops from the cabin on all international flights both into and out of the US?”, Kelly replied with a swift “I might”.
“There’s a real threat, there’s numerous threats to aviation, that’s really the thing that they’re obsessed with, the terrorists, the idea of knocking down an airplane in flight, particularly if it’s a US carrier, particularly if it’s full of US people,” Kelly said.”You know that I implemented on the 21st of March a restriction on large electronic devices in the cabins from 10 points of origin.”
The 10 points of origin Kelly refers to are Middle Eastern countries, with the ban coming about due to the threat of terrorism.
He adds that the US are working closely with intelligence, and new technologies are going to raise the bar for aviation security to much higher than it is now.
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“The technology is not too far down the road but it is a real, investigated threat and I’ll reserve that decision until we see where it’s going,” Kelly said.
Last month it was reported the ban could extend to the UK and Europe, but that has been shelved for the meantime.
You’d still be able to bring the devices with you on holiday, but they would have to be packed into your check-in baggage. And just when we thought a 14-hour flight couldn’t get any worse.
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