Security USA - Mystiske regler skal innføres - Curt Lewis

Laptop ban on planes to US replaced by tighter security
The US Homeland Security Department opts for enhanced security measures over expanding a ban on laptops in the passenger cabins of planes.

DHS says the new security measures include heightened screening of personal electronic devices.

The US Homeland Security Department has decided not to expand a ban on laptops in the passenger cabins of planes flying to the States. Instead it's requiring tighter security measures for all aircraft and airports.

The DHS made the announcement Wednesday, saying the enhanced security standards would apply to all commercial flights to the United States. The 10 airports in the Middle East and Africa affected by the current laptop ban will have that prohibition lifted if they implement the new standards.

The DHS had previously indicated that the ban, which applies to laptops, tablets and other devices larger than mobile phones, might be expanded to all flights from Europe. Later, it said the ban might be applied to all international flights to and from the US.

Homeland Security put the ban in place after intelligence revealed terrorists were developing an explosive that could be hidden in portable electronic devices.

In a fact sheet on its website, the DHS said the new security measures would include "enhancing overall passenger screening; conducting heightened screening of personal electronic devices; increasing security protocols around aircraft and in passenger areas; and deploying advanced technology, expanding canine screening, and establishing additional preclearance locations."

The US will ban laptops on 180 international airlines unless they meet mysterious new security rules

a laptop on the screen of an X-ray security scanner

The US announced today (June 28) it's rolling out a set of new, largely undisclosed security measures targeting some 2,000 international flights arriving at American airports every day.

The new rules will apply to 180 airlines flying out of 280 airports in 105 countries, according to senior officials at the Department of Homeland Security.

"We are not standing on the sidelines while fanatics hatch new plots," said secretary John Kelly, adding that terrorists see aviation as their "crown-jewel target."

The new measures could potentially be good news for travelers who feared the laptop ban the US imposed on 10 airports in the Middle East and Africa in March would be extended to the other parts of the world. (The new policy also applies to those 10 airports, where airlines could start admitting laptops as soon as they comply with it.)
But it could also mean bad news: If the airlines fail to enforce the new standards, the US could bar all large personal electronic devices from their planes, even the cargo hull. "If they are screened they can fly, if they are not screened they can't fly," said one of the officials during a media briefing ahead of the rollout. Non-compliant airlines could be barred altogether from landing in the US.

Still, the homeland security officials on the call also tried to downplay that possibility, telling reporters that many airlines already carry out safety procedures that are very close to meeting the new rules. They expect only a sliver of them-1%-to be unable to do so.

It's hard to judge that assessment, given that the department is not providing any significant details about what the extra measures will entail. The officials said that travelers can expect intensified screening at airports, in the form of sniffing dogs, or more screening equipment. They didn't give any hints about the "unseen" measures that are also part of the new procedures.

Travelers were also left wondering about when the new confidential rules will be put in place. Sometime in the short and medium term, US officials said, depending on factors that also remained mystery.

Kelly said the new rules are the first step in a broad effort to increase aviation security, which could eventually include expanding the number of foreign airports where travelers can go through US customs and border security before boarding their flight.

"We cannot play international whack-a-mole with each new threat," he added.