Top US and EU officials will meet on Wednesday to discuss a controversial plan to outlaw carry-on laptops and other large electronics in planes flying from Europe to America.
The scheme, proposed by the US Department of Homeland Security, would extend the existing ban placed on eight Muslim countries to a string of EU nations, including Britain.
But while the existing ban only affects 50 flights a day, the Europe-US air corridor is the busiest in the world, with around 65 million flights a year.
That has led to concerns about chaos, thousands of flights being canceled and even fires in luggage holds – concerns that now appear to be one step closer to reality.
European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas confirmed in a press conference on Monday that the commission would ‘high-level talks at the political and technical level with the US authorities this Wednesday afternoon’.
She confirmed that the EU’s home affairs and transport commissioners took part in a conference call Friday with homeland security secretary John Kelly to discuss the possible laptop ban.
But he could not say whether Kelly would attend the talks Wednesday.
She added that the commission – which proposes and implements legislation and decisions made in the EU – would ‘assess any new threats’ with the US and ‘work toward a common approach to address them.’
That sterile language hides the very real threat of havoc for airline companies, who have scheduled more than 3,250 flights a week from EU airports to the US this summer.
Twitter users have already said that a ban on the laptops – which would interfere with work for traveling businessmen – would lead to them canceling trips.terroris
Meanwhile, parents have expressed horror at the thought of not being able to distract their children with tablets and e-readers, which would also be banned.
And many insurance companies do not cover damage inflicted on electronic items while they are in an airplane’s hold.
Some experts also believe that forcing people to place their electronic items in the luggage hold could lead to disaster.
They run on lithium-ion batteries, which have been known to burst into flames in mid-air – and without staff around to put them out before they spread, such fires could prove deadly.
On Friday it was confirmed that Kelly had spoken to ‘key European partners’ – France, Britain, Germany, Spain and Italy – about the proposed ban.
He told the ministers on the call that the department does not plan to institute any new measures immediately, and agreed to discuss the matters this week.
In March, Washington banned passengers from ten airports in eight countries in North Africa and the Middle East from electronic devices larger than cellphones as carry-on items.
Britain followed shortly afterwards with a similar ban applying to incoming flights from six Middle-East and North African countries.
Those moves came amid concerns that Islamic terrorists might use the items to disguise bombs, although the US said it was due to ‘long-standing concerns,’ not a specific threat.
A hole was blown in the fuselage of a Somali airliner in February 2016 by a bomb believed to have been built into a laptop and carried into the passenger cabin.
However, the plane was at a low-enough altitude that the pilot was able to land the plane safely. Only one person was killed.
Join GhanaStar.com to receive daily email alerts of breaking news in Ghana. GhanaStar.com is your source for all Ghana News. Get the latest Ghana news, breaking news, sports, politics, entertainment and more about Ghana, Africa and beyond.