Lap tops og safety vs. security - ICAO og Transport Canada - Curt Lewis

U.N. aviation agency urges balance of security risk, safety in electronics ban

FILE PHOTO - A Transportation Safety Administration agent looks over a passenger at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco, California February 27, 2015. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

The United Nation's aviation agency on Wednesday urged regulators to weigh security and safety, after the United States and Britain imposed restrictions on several carry-on electronic devices on planes coming from certain airports in Muslim majority countries.

A news statement published by the International Civil Aviation Organization stressed a balance between security "risk" and safety concerns, because "incidents involving devices containing lithium batteries may be more easily mitigated in the cabin than in checked baggage."

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said passengers traveling from 10 airports in the Middle East and North Africa could no longer bring devices larger than a mobile phone such as a laptop into the main cabin, following reports that militant groups want to smuggle explosive devices inside electronic gadgets.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May later said there would also be curbs requiring electronic items to be transported as checked baggage on flights from six countries in the Middle East.

The carry-on ban, while addressing security concerns, has some authorities worried about technical safety risks, such as lithium-powered goods catching fire in the hold.

"Finding an effective balance between safety and security approaches is always a priority in global aviation," the ICAO statement said.

While Montreal-based ICAO cannot impose rules, it sets safety and security standards for international aviation that are usually followed by the organization's 191 member countries.

In 2016, ICAO announced a prohibition on shipments of lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger planes. Industry experts are now working to develop new and improved packaging standards that could be used to safely transport these batteries on planes.

While lithium-powered consumer items like laptops are permitted in checked baggage, some ICAO staff have shared safety concerns with countries that are implementing or considering the electronics carry-on ban, said a source close to the aviation agency.

ICAO has not decided whether to propose turning the carry-on electronics ban into a global standard, a second source said.

Both sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk to the media.

"ICAO and its member states will continue to review the evolving aviation security environment in the coming weeks," the statement said.

Canada dispatches team to Brussels to assess airplane laptop threat

Transport Minister Marc Garneau has sent a team of officials to Brussels to assess intelligence information before deciding whether Canada should require passengers travelling from some Middle Eastern countries to pack all large electronic devices other than cellphones in their checked baggage.

The United States and Britain have ruled that only cellphones and smartphones will be allowed in the passenger cabin of flights into the U.S. and Britain from a number of Muslim-majority countries.

U.S. Homeland Secretary John Kelly passed on intelligence to Mr. Garneau in a telephone discussion on March 20 after the U.S. banned laptops on passenger aircraft arriving from 10 airports in eight countries.

Canadian security agencies and Transport Canada assessed the intelligence and are now seeking further clarification.

"My officials are in Brussels to attend meetings with a core group of allies and experts on the issue of banned electronics in the cabin of aircraft. We are carefully assessing information of concern with partners," Mr. Garneau said in a statement.

No details have been provided on why the U.S. and Great Britain became alarmed about laptops on passenger planes, but it was reported by The New York Times that intelligence showed Islamic State is developing a bomb hidden in portable electronics.

Mr. Garneau assured Canadians that their safety should not be a concern at this time.

"We have in place enhanced and targeted security measures for flights destined to Canada in airports and countries around the world. This is normal practice, and such measures are in effect on almost every continent, including South America, Asia and Africa," he said. "Our government remains vigilant in continuously assessing our security measures and will not hesitate to take further action when needed."

U.S. officials have told Reuters the information gleaned from a U.S. commando raid in January in Yemen that targeted al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) included bomb-making techniques.

AQAP, based in Yemen, has plotted to take down U.S. airliners and claimed responsibility for the 2015 attack on the office of Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris.

The group claimed responsibility for a Dec. 25, 2009, failed attempt by a Nigerian Islamist to down an airliner over Detroit. The device, hidden in the underwear of the man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, failed to detonate.

The U.S. ban affects flights from international airports in Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Qatar and United Arab Emirates. About 50 flights a day will be impacted, all on foreign carriers.

Britain's ban applies to domestic and foreign flights coming from Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.

Of the nine airlines affected by the U.S. ban, eight offer direct routes to Canada, through either Toronto's Pearson International Airport or Montreal's Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.

If Canada were to follow a similar ban, among the routes affected could be Turkish Airlines flights from Istanbul to Montreal, Royal Jordanian Airlines flights between Amman and Montreal and Qatar Airways flights between Doha and Montreal.

Angela Gittens, director-general of airport association ACI World, likened the move to the years-long restrictions of liquids on planes, which she said also came suddenly, in response to a perceived threat, and caused some disruption.

Airlines will adjust to the electronics policy, she said. "The first few days of something like this are quite problematic, but just as with the liquids ban, it will start to sort itself out."

U.S. officials said the decision had nothing to do with President Donald Trump's efforts to impose a travel ban on six majority-Muslim nations. Homeland Security spokeswoman Gillian Christensen said the government "did not target specific nations. We relied upon evaluated intelligence to determine which airports were affected."

On March 6, President Trump signed a revised executive order barring citizens from Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen from travelling to the United States for 90 days. Two federal judges have halted parts of the ban, saying it discriminates against Muslims. Mr. Trump has vowed to appeal up to the Supreme Court if necessary.

The rules do apply to U.S. citizens travelling on those flights, but not to crew members on those foreign carriers. Homeland Security will allow passengers to use larger approved medical devices.

While Canada assesses the information that led to the U.S. and UK actions, the International Air Transport Association called for the ban to be a temporary measure.

"The current measures are not an acceptable long-term solution to whatever threat they are trying to mitigate," Alexandre de Juniac, director general and chief executive officer of the association said in a speech in Montreal. "Even in the short term it is difficult to understand their effectiveness. And the commercial distortions they create are severe. We call on governments to work with the industry to find a way to keep flying secure without separating passengers from their personal electronics."

Airlines are raising legitimate criticisms of the ban, Mr. de Juniac said.

The two countries have placed the ban on flights from different airports and laptops are regarded as secure in some airplane cabins but not others, he noted.

"We must find a better way. And governments must act quickly," he said.

Gulf airlines offer workarounds to US electronics ban

Persian Gulf airlines have begun loaning laptops and iPads to travelers on U.S.-bound flights, the latest workaround to a new U.S. policy banning large electronics on select flights from the Middle East and Africa.

Qatar Airways will let business-class passengers flying out of the targeted airports use laptops at no charge after boarding and give them one hour of free Wi-Fi, while Etihad Airways will make iPads available for first-class and business-class passengers and provide vouchers for free Wi-Fi.

Qatar Airways is also offering a "handling service" to accommodate passengers that want to use their laptops up until boarding. The service will allow any banned items to be collected at the gate, packed up, loaded onto the plane as checked baggage and returned back to the customer upon arrival to the U.S.

Dubai's Emirates airline announced a similar solution last week.

"As an award-winning and global airline we truly appreciate the importance of being able to work on board our aircraft and that is why I have insisted on offering only the best possible solution for our customers," said Akbar Al Baker, chief executive of Qatar Airways Group. "By providing this laptop loan service we can ensure that our passengers on flights to the US can continue to work whilst on-board."

Middle Eastern airlines, which have worked aggressively to boost their image in the U.S., have been racing to contain the fallout from President Trump's new electronics ban.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced earlier this month that passengers will now be prohibited from carrying electronic devices larger than a cellphone - including laptops, tablets, cameras and portable DVD players - onto the cabins of certain U.S.-bound flights. Those items may be stowed in checked luggage, however.

The indefinite ban applies to 10 different airports in Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Qatar, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.

While the policy does not target specific nations or airlines, it affects nine overseas air carriers that have a total of 50 daily direct flights to the U.S., according to senior officials. No U.S. airlines are affected because none has direct flights from the select airports.

If the airlines don't comply, they could have their certificate to fly to the U.S. revoked.

Senior administration officials said the new security protocols are being implemented because terrorist groups are "aggressively pursuing innovative methods" to smuggle explosive devices onto commercial flights.

But Gulf carriers are worried about the damage of the electronics ban on their business. Tourists and business travelers often work while they fly and may be reluctant to put expensive electronics with sensitive information in checked baggage, and they may decide to avoid Middle Eastern airports altogether.

The United Kingdom announced a similar rule, but that ban does not affect Emirates, Qatar and Etihad, which have been major industry rivals in the U.S.

Tim Clark, the president of Emirates, told CNN that the security protocols will be "hugely disruptive" for Emirates and he questioned why only some airlines and airports are singled out.

"After all, if these devices are viewed by the United States and the United Kingdom as potential instruments of threat, they can be loaded on any airplane anywhere," Clark said. "To suggest that Dubai doesn't have the equal capabilities or better than the Europeans, the Americans and the Asians in terms of search, interdiction and surveillance, I find amazing."