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Laptops, tablets, e-book readers, set to be banned from hand luggage on UK-US flights



clippedgull

Hotdogs, extra onions
Aug 11, 2003
20,789
Near Ducks, Geese, and Seagulls
Millions of UK passengers are expected to face new checks and delays at boarding gates in the biggest shake-up of airport security for a decade because of fears of laptop bombs.

America has shared “concrete intelligence”, warning that there could be jihadists living in Britain with the potential to manufacture bombs from electronic devices. As a result, Downing Street is overseeing plans to ban laptops, tablets and ebook readers in hand luggage on flights to America.

Government officials and airport bosses believe it is a “foregone conclusion” that the devices will have to be banned on all US-bound flights, with new restrictions likely to be imposed within weeks.

One Special Branch source also wondered whether the new security checks would have to be widened to encompass all UK flights if the terror threat from extremists in this country was considered to be so severe.

US sources believe that up to one in three flights to America from Heathrow will have to be cancelled temporarily in order to bring in new screening for hand luggage at boarding gates

The Sunday Times understands that Washington is so concerned about aviation security that agents from the US Department of Homeland Security have already been deployed to boarding gates in the UK for flights to America, with orders to scan passengers for physical or behavioural signs of danger.

“This is a game changer. Britain is our most trusted partner when it comes to security, but the threat has now likely moved to the UK and we must respond,” said a US source.

Security experts this weekend warned that the new measures would come at an “enormous cost” to airlines and airports and cause “chaos and confusion” for passengers.

The Department for Transport told UK airports last Thursday to prepare for the change. A senior executive at one major UK airport said the message from government officials was that a ban was “a matter of when, not if”.

“All we know is that it is likely to affect electronic devices bigger than an iPhone 7,” said the source.

Amber Rudd, the home secretary, and six other European interior ministers were briefed on a phone call with John Kelly, the US homeland security secretary, on Friday. A senior Whitehall official said the “groundwork is being laid” to implement the proposals.

Security sources said the alert was over manually triggered bombs in hand baggage. If a laptop bomb were hidden in checked-in luggage it would have a remote trigger and this would be spotted by state-of-the-art scanners before being loaded onto the aircraft, the sources added.

It is expected that passengers will be searched for electronic devices at boarding gates. Any found would be screened before being placed into “padded envelopes” and stored in aircraft holds. Passengers would be reunited with their devices at baggage reclaim on arrival.

The new checks will amount to the most significant changes to airport security since the “liquid bomb” plot of 2006, when terrorists tried to blow up 10 transatlantic flights from the UK to America using explosives stored in their hand luggage. Those measures resulted in more than 2,000 flights being cancelled.
 
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studio150

Well-known member
Jul 30, 2011
29,553
On the Border
If the Americans are that worried, it can only be a short step until they ban all flights to America, or start deploying cruise missiles to the hotbed of UK terrorist homes.
 


Two Professors

Two Mad Professors
Jul 13, 2009
7,617
Multicultural Brum
If the Americans are that worried, it can only be a short step until they ban all flights to America, or start deploying cruise missiles to the hotbed of UK terrorist homes.

Some cruise missiles on Alum Rock and Sparkbrook would improve the neighbourhoods no end.
 








Cian

Well-known member
Jul 16, 2003
14,262
Dublin, Ireland
Aer Lingus will be wetting themselves with excitement with people connecting via Dublin - which has TSA checks and you land as a domestic flight in the US - instead of Heathrow. Already get huge connecting traffic from regional airports (Leeds being a huge one, about 100 a day)
 










GT49er

Well-known member
Feb 1, 2009
46,466
Gloucester
Will a lap-top bomb be less dangerous in the cargo hold then?

And if they're screened before being put into padded envelopes, presumably those that the screening identifies as explosive devices will not get on board at all - so why not let the ones that are screened and identified as harmless accompany their owners as hand baggage anyway?
 


Easy 10

Brain dead MUG SHEEP
Jul 5, 2003
61,673
Location Location
Flying to Vegas tomorrow morning, so looks like I'll just about beat the incoming ban. Mind you, the wife uses the tablet so it wouldn't overly affect me, except she'd be bored and in my ear the whole flight I suppose.
 




clippedgull

Hotdogs, extra onions
Aug 11, 2003
20,789
Near Ducks, Geese, and Seagulls
Will a lap-top bomb be less dangerous in the cargo hold then?

And if they're screened before being put into padded envelopes, presumably those that the screening identifies as explosive devices will not get on board at all - so why not let the ones that are screened and identified as harmless accompany their owners as hand baggage anyway?

Apparently they are worried that the devices they want banned would be devices capable of being used to manually (as opposed to a timing device) trigger bombs in the cargo hold . But if an ebook reader is capable of triggering a device, then surely an Iphone 7 or smaller would also be capable. :shrug:

It would surely make sense banning all electronic devices from being carried on by hand.
 




beorhthelm

A. Virgo, Football Genius
Jul 21, 2003
35,264
its all security theater, being seen to do something. the ironic thing is theres a high risk that a laptop or other device may catch fire, and being in the hold near impossible to deal with (there is fire suppression).
 


Gazwag

5 millionth post poster
Mar 4, 2004
30,093
Bexhill-on-Sea
Of course you need to make sure your travel insurance covers your electronic goods in your suitcase - not sure if the standard ones do
 



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