U.S. Considers Extending Laptop Ban to Europe Flights

Although the shocking passenger-bashing incidents at American and United have mostly upstaged the

laptop ban story

in recent weeks, another media-focus turnaround may be in the offing.

The

Guardian

is reporting that U.S. authorities are considering extending the laptop ban on flights from a handful of African and Middle Eastern countries to flights departing from European countries, including the U.K., as well.



Related: FCC Set to Ban Inflight Calls for Good



The current ban prohibits electronic devices larger than cellphones in the passenger cabins of nonstop flights to the U.S. from airports in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

While security officials have refused to divulge the specific reasons for the ban, it's understood that it reflects classified intelligence suggesting that terrorists plan to blow up a plane using a laptop-sized device filled with explosive material.

The

policy has been widely criticized

as being both unnecessary and ineffective. There are already effective security measures in place to detect explosives in electronic devices. And terrorists can easily circumvent the existing ban by using connecting flights, rather than traveling on the affected nonstops.

The same criticisms would apply to flights from European airports, if the ban is expanded to include them.



Reader Reality Check



Would extending the ban be more of a good thing, or more of a bad thing?