Laptop Ban Will Not Be Extended To More Countries

Talks were initiated when U.S. announced laptop ban on some countries, later U.S. unveiled its plans that this ban can be extended to more countries including some EU countries.

Luckily, talks ended on Wednesday regarding the ban on laptops and tablets on the flights coming from EU with promise of more talks and better intelligence sharing.

During the past several days after the threat prompted by President Donald Trump, EU officials were in continuous contact with U.S. authorities to discuss the matter in detail.

The airline industry protested against the proposal in a strong letter and revealed their concerns regarding trans-Atlantic air travel which would be affected with this ban and costs billions of dollars and time.

On Wednesday in Brussels, U.S. Homeland Security Department Officials and EU officials shared the information on air travel security and said, “The ban is off the table for now”

They also shared details about their aviation security standards and detection capabilities, and agreed to meet again in Washington next week “to further assess shared risks and solutions for protecting airline passengers, whilst ensuring the smooth functioning of global air travel,” according to a joint statement.

The International Air Transport Association, or IATA, which represents 265 airlines, wrote to both the EU and the U.S. State Department on Tuesday to oppose the proposed ban, which it said would deeply affect the economy and cause the equivalent of $1.1 billion in lost time to passengers.

On Wednesday, the talks welcomed more discussions on improving the security while minimizing travel bans.

The original ban which was initiated few months back was on mostly Middle Eastern flights, Britain also adopted the ban partially and is being considered by Australia. The ban was focused on certain countries for the reason their screening equipment is not as effective and sophisticated as in the U.S. and other EU countries analysts say.

Related: United Nations Discusses laptop ban on various airlines

Officials from Homeland Security met echelons of the three leading U.S. airlines, Delta, American and United – and the industry’s leading U.S. trade group to discuss expanding the laptop policy to flights arriving from Europe.