The aftermath of the Manchester bombing could have triggered the decision of the U.S. to Ban laptops on Flights from and into the country. The country might “raise the bar” on Airline Security and also implement stricter screening of hand-carried items, according to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.
In a Fox News interview on Sunday, he also said that the terrorists are obsessed with the idea of 'knocking down' flights particularly the U.S. fleet that carries Americans. The U.S. suffered a blow when terrorists destroyed the Trade Center twin towers on September 11, 2001.
Since then, the U.S. security department has been on alert for possible surprise attacks.
Laptop ban to be enforced in all flights U.S. flights
The past experiences with terrorism led the White House to call for a ban on electronic devices in March. Flights from 10 airports namely, UAE, Turkey, Qatar, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Sudan, and Yemen, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia are the countries that were named in the ban. The U.K. also issued a ban following the U.S. action.
The massive ban would be part of the broader airline security efforts to thwart sophisticated threats. The implementation of the ban was not yet been enforced as the security arm of the government is still following "intelligence" and refining the ban.
The airline companies will be largely affected in terms of passenger demand. However, the avoidance of in-flight attacks by terrorists far outweighs their desire for profits. United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz said that the company is willing to comply with whatever will be imposed.
Laptop ban on plane cabins to thwart terrorist activities
In March, Kelly already hinted on a possible expansion of the ban which is now being considered. The ban stated that large electronic devices would not be allowed to be hand-carried. The rationale behind this is that larger devices could be used by terrorists for their destructive activities.
The laptop ban came after Donald Trump signed a travel ban from Muslim-majority countries on January 27. The ban received mixed reactions and affected countries have argued that the proposed ban should be lifted. The ban is now frozen in the federal court after a federal judge temporarily blocked the implementation of it.
The broader scope of the electronics ban will be implemented anytime soon as Kelly has assured that it is going to be enforced. The economic outcome of the ban will surely have a massive after effect but it will not outweigh the value of the precious lives of possible victims.