Bring a book.
The trans-Atlantic flight could soon become a gadget-free zone if U.S. officials press forward with a security ban on laptop computers and other larger electronic devices on airline flights from Europe.
Carriers are bracing for operational chaos at European airports after the Department of Homeland Security said last week it might expand to Europe a ban imposed in March on U.S.-bound flights from 10 Middle Eastern airports. The new security protocol could mean longer security lines, heightened delays, boarding gate confusion, and yet more hassles for fliers.
“I think it’s going to be extremely chaotic,” said Rich Roth, executive director of CTI Consulting, a security firm that focuses on aviation. He predicts that airlines, airports, and European officials will press the DHS to review its analysis of the trans-Atlantic threat, hoping for a more lenient strategy than the currently envisioned ban.
“I think they went a little bit overboard in their risk assessment,” said Roth.
Corporations and their travel managers are up in arms about the proposed electronics ban, said Greg Raiff, chief executive of New Hampshire-based charter operator Private Jet Services.
“Picture a technology firm moving employees from Europe to the U.S and telling the developers in those firms they can’t use laptops on airplanes,” Raiff said. “I think you’re looking at a substantial uproar from the business community over this.”
“Business travelers would be far more willing to accept a far more rigorous screening at the airport.”
While companies won’t abandon trans-Atlantic trips, an electronics ban may dampen corporate travel when combined with other recent regulations that have made traveling more onerous, said Michael McCormick, executive director of the Global Business Travel Association. When faced with having to part with their computers—potentially putting sensitive corporate information at risk—some companies may tell employees to leave their computers at home.
“I think business travelers would be far more willing to accept a far more rigorous screening at the airport, rather than having to part with their tools when they travel,” McCormick said.