Passengers flying between Europe and the US can continue to take laptops and tablets in their hand luggage for now at least, following a meeting between EU and US officials in Brussels on Wednesday.
There was speculation that the electronic device restrictions currently in place on flights from certain Middle East countries, would be extended to include routes from Europe to the US.
US laptop ban “likely” to be expanded to flights from Europe
But yesterday’s four-hour meeting did not result in an extension to the ban, with a joint statement by the European Commission and the Department for Homeland Security saying that “The United States and the European Union reaffirmed their commitment to continue working closely together on aviation security generally, including meeting next week in Washington DC to further assess shared risks and solutions for protecting airline passengers, whilst ensuring the smooth functioning of global air travel”.
The statement also said that:
“At the meeting, both sides exchanged information on the serious evolving threats to aviation security and approaches to confronting such threats.
“Participants provided insight into existing aviation security standards and detection capabilities as well as recent security enhancements on both sides of the Atlantic related to large electronic devices placed in checked baggage.”
The laptop ban and its possible extension is currently being discussed on our forum – to join in the debate click here.
