Electronics ban disparity must be addressed

The US banned in March laptop and tablets in cabin baggage on flights originating from eight countries, impacting global hubs including Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Istanbul. It applied also to any electronics devices larger than smartphones. The action affected major carriers such as Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines. The measure includes 10 international airports in seven Middle Eastern countries namely Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Turkey. But the restrictions don’t apply to travel that originates in the US to the countries within the ambit of the ban. The affected airlines freak out at this disparity.
Some carriers serving these routes loaned laptops and tablets to premium customers in an attempt to mitigate the effects of the ban. Business-class travellers on Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways hand over their laptops at the gate for storage in the hold and receive specially purchased computers. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the measures resulted from fears that terrorist groups have gotten better at concealing explosives in electronic devices capable of downing an airliner. A rigged laptop or tablet may not be detectable by existing
X-ray machines at security checkpoints.
Now DHS is considering an expansion of electronics restrictions to Europe. If the measure comes into effect, it would disrupt one of the world’s busiest and most lucrative travel markets. The business would take a hit just ahead of peak summer season and would prevent business passengers’ ability to work on their laptops on long-haul routes across the Atlantic. More than 3,000 flights are expected to arrive in the US from the EU each week this summer. The US is the world’s second-largest market for spending on business travel, after China. Global spending for business travel topped $1.3 trillion and is projected to reach $1.6 trillion by 2020.
Although no formal decision has been made regarding the extension of electronics ban to Europe, airline and travel-industry groups are quietly expressing concern about the plan. The Global Business Travel Association and the US Travel Association have said that genuine security risks must be addressed, but the measures should also ensure minimum disruptions.
DHS says it continues to evaluate the threat environment and will make changes when necessary to keep air travelers safe. The Secretary of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly is to discuss the issue when he meets with European Commission officials in Brussels. European commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos told Kelly that the threat affects the EU and the US in the same way and so the response should be made in common.
The electronics ban has drawn mixed response. Some security analysts have said the policies banning personal electronics cannot be touted as an effective measure to reduce the risk of terrorism. It is understood that the purpose of the ban is to protect travellers as some terror groups looking to evade airport security. But it has failed to address the loss of airlines’ revenue and profits due to a fall in passenger numbers, decreasing customer satisfaction and higher costs linked to screening baggage. No US carriers fly to the affected cities. The experts have said that the ban on electronics ‘larger than a cellphone’ defies logic and at odds with basic computer science. The measure demands reassessment.