The U.S. is asking the world’s airlines to institute a ban on personal electronics in checked luggage, citing a fire risk, according to a report published Thursday.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) made the request in a recent filing with the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), according to the Associated Press.

The UN agency is responsible for setting international airline safety standards.

The FAA said in the filing that its tests have shown the rechargeable batteries in personal electronic devices, such as laptops, can lead to an explosion if they overheat near an aerosol spray can, potentially disabling an airplane’s fire suppression system.

Large fires also resulted when the batteries were packed next to other common goods including nail polish remover, hand sanitizer and rubbing alcohol.

The ban is going to be discussed during a two-week gathering of the ICAO currently being held in Montreal, Canada, according to the AP.

“The fires can burn up to 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit, close to the melting point of the aluminum used in aircraft construction,” according to the news agency.

Three cargo jets have been destroyed and four pilots have been killed by in-flight fires linked to lithium ion batteries over the past decade, it said.

Source – Anadolu agency

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The United States has lifted a ban on passengers taking laptops and tablet computers on Etihad Airways flights from its base in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi, authorities said on Sunday.

The move – welcomed by Etihad – comes more than three months after the US prohibited such devices on direct flights from 10 airports in Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa.

Etihad is the first airliner to benefit from a lift in the ban, which specified that carry-on laptops and other electronic devices larger than cellphones would not be permitted in the cabin on direct flights from the airports, including Abu Dhabi.

The ban was implemented after intelligence officials learned of efforts by the Islamic State (IS) group to fashion a bomb that could be secreted inside such devices.

The decision to lift the ban on US-bound Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi came after the airline implemented enhanced security measures, said David Lapan, spokesman for the US Department of Homeland Security.

“We commend Etihad for working swiftly to implement these additional measures,” he said. “Their efforts are a model for both foreign and domestic airlines looking to adopt the new measures.”

Lapan said the specific measures that were put in place were confidential, but added that passengers and electronic devices would face additional screening.

Etihad Aviation Group applauded the decision.

“We welcome the decision by the US Department of Homeland Security to lift the electronic devices ban on flights between Abu Dhabi and the United States, following the successful validation of security measures at the US Preclearance facility at Abu Dhabi airport earlier today,” a statement said.

“Effective immediately, the removal of the restrictions allows passengers flying to the US to carry all laptops, tablets, and other electronic devices onto the aircraft, subject to enhanced security measures,” it added.

Etihad said its passengers flying to the US from Abu Dhabi International Airport “clear US Immigration and Customs at the US Preclearance facility in Terminal 3”.

New facility
“When guests land in the US, they arrive as domestic passengers with no requirement to queue for immigration and custom checks again,” it added, saying the facility was the only one of its kind in the region.

In addition to the 10-airport ban, the US announced on 28 June that it would impose stricter security measures on all US-bound flights, regardless of origin.

Washington has promised to lift its March ban affecting the 10 airports when airliners adhere to additional security measures.

The other cities are Amman, Cairo, Casablanca, Doha, Dubai, Istanbul, Jeddah, Kuwait City and Riyadh, the Washington Post said.

US carriers were exempted from the ban.

Britain announced a similar ban on personal electronic devices for flights originating from six countries, but not the United Arab Emirates.

Etihad carries out about 45 flights each week between Abu Dhabi and six US cities, and is the only airline with direct flights to the US from Abu Dhabi, the Washington Post said. It flies twice a day to New York, daily to Washington Dulles International Airport, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles, and three times a week to San Francisco.

Source –Middle East Eye

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The US announced on Wednesday it will implement tough new security rules for all airlines flying into the country, but held off on a threatened expansion of its carry-on laptop ban.

Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly said evolving terror threats made it imperative to raise security standards for airlines from all countries, rather than take a piecemeal approach on personal electronics.

“We cannot play international whack-a-mole with each new threat. Instead, we must put in place new measures across the board to keep the travelling public safe and make it harder for terrorists to succeed,” he said.
European and US officials told Reuters that airlines have 21 days to put in place increased explosive screening and have 120 days to comply with other security measures, including enhanced screening of airline passengers.
The US imposed restrictions on laptops in March on flights originating at 10 Middle East airports in eight countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Turkey. They came amid fears that a concealed bomb could be installed in electronic devices taken aboard aircraft. Britain quickly followed suit with a similar set of restrictions.
Reuters reported earlier this month that the United States had suggested enhancements, including explosive trace detection screening, increased vetting of airport staff and additional detection dogs.

Since laptops are widely used in flight by business class passengers – who pay double or more than the average ticket price – the airline industry had feared expanding the ban could cut into revenue.

Airline officials said they would have to bear the brunt of expanded screening costs. Officials told Reuters they are concerned about adding new enhanced security measures to all of the roughly 280 airports that have direct flights to the United States rather than focus them on airports where threats are highest.

US airline stocks were higher on Wednesday, with United Airlines up 1.4 percent and Delta Air Lines and American Airlines Group each up 2.3 percent. None of the airlines immediately commented.

Starting in April, Kelly repeatedly said it was “likely” the laptop ban would expand to other airports – and even said in May the government could potentially expand the ban worldwide.

Kelly, who was speaking in Washington on Wednesday afternoon, said he planned a “step by step” security enhancement plan that included short-, medium- and longer-term improvements that would take at least a year to implement completely.

He said last week that airlines must take the issue seriously. “The threat is very real,” he said.

Kelly met with senior airline executives in May and Homeland Security officials have had repeated meetings with US airline executives.

Robert Mann, analyst at RW Mann & Co, said if US officials had insisted on a expanded laptop ban, it could harm business travel.

He said new computer tomography or “CT” scanners being tested in Boston and Phoenix could help address long-term screening issues. Current screening of carry-on luggage “can’t tell the difference between a block of cheese, a romance novel and a block of Semtex plastic explosives because they’re all about the same density,” Mann said.

One big issue facing policymakers is the potential safety implications related to past problems with laptop batteries and storing large numbers of laptops in the cargo hold.

US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said at a June Senate hearing that lithium ion batteries on airplanes can be a problem and pose a fire risk.

Source – Middle East Eye

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New Zealand has become the latest country to announce that it is considering the introduction of a laptop ban in all flights from the Middle East.

The new rules would follow similar measures introduced last month by the

New Zealand’s transport minister Simon Bridges told Reuters in Dubai on Sunday that the country’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) “is assessing the evidence to determine what is appropriate”.

Elaborating on the minister’s comments, Prime Minister Bill English told reporters in Wellington that it is considering restrictions on laptops and other large electronic devices on flights from some Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East.

The country’s leader on Monday said that the aviation agency was considering the issue, and would make a decision on whether to restrict large electronic items on flights from the Middle East independently of the government.

If the additional security measures are implemented, they will affect passengers flying from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Doha, Qatar, where carriers Emirates and Qatar Airways, respectively, fly direct to New Zealand.

“A number of our security partners put those arrangements in place. With this particular proposition there’s a balance between inconvenience for passengers, many of whom live off their laptop on the one hand, but on the other hand it’s making sure that the flying is safe,” English said.

Security measures for passengers
US measures
Effective March 25.
The in-cabin ban does not permit any electronic device larger than a normal sized smartphone including e-readers, laptops, tablets as well as DVD players, all of which must be stowed in the hold.

The ban is in place for all flights to the US from the UAE, Kuwait, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Qatar.
IATA calculations show that this ban will impact about 350 scheduled flights a week, equivalent to about 2 per cent of total international flights to the US.

UK measures
Announced March 21.
The in-cabin ban does not permit any electronic device larger than a normal sized smartphone, specifically, any device exceeding 16cm (length), 93cm (width) and 1.5cm (depth).

The ban is in place for all flights to the UK from Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan.
IATA calculations show that this ban will “impact about 393 scheduled passenger flights per week, equivalent to about 2.7 per cent of the total international scheduled passenger flights to the UK.

Australia measures
Effective April 6.
Passengers and luggage will be randomly screened for explosives according to the new rules imposed by Australia.
The new screening is in place for all flights to Australia from Doha, Qatar and from Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the UAE.

Emirates operates 11 flights a day to Australia while Etihad flies two daily routes to Australia.
Source – Gulf news

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Emirates will be cutting down on its flights to the US following the recently imposed electronics ban coupled with visa restrictions resulting into weakened travel demand.

The airline said in a statement on Wednesday that starting next month it would be reducing flights to five of the 12 US cities it currently serves, including Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Seattle, Boston and Los Angeles.

“This is a commercial decision in response to weakened travel demand to US. The recent actions taken by the US government relating to the issuance of entry visas, heightened security vetting and restrictions on electronic devices in aircraft cabins have had a direct impact on consumer interest and demand for air travel into the US,” an Emirates spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Gulf News.

The spokesperson added that Emirates will closely monitor the situation “with the view to reinstate and grow our US flight operations as soon as viable.”

The airline further said it has, over the past three months, seen a “significant deterioration” in the booking profiles on all US routes, across all travel segments. “Emirates has, therefore, responded as any profit-oriented enterprise would, and we will redeploy capacity to serve demand on other routes on our global network,” the spokesperson said.

From May 1 and May 23 respectively, Emirates’ Fort Lauderdale and Orlando operations will move from daily services to five a week. Its Seattle and Boston operations will move from twice-daily services to a daily service from June 1 and 2 respectively. And from July 1, the airline said, its operations to Los Angeles will move from twice-daily to a daily service.

Source – Gulf News

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