Ban on carrying laptops inside flights could be expanded to U.K. flights to the U.S. now

LONDON, U.K. - The Trump administration is now said to be considering barring passengers flying to the U.S. from U.K airports from carrying laptops, reports have revealed. 

A similar ban on electronic devices being carried on flights to the U.S. is already in place. 

The U.S. government had imposed the ban late in March on flights from ten airports in the Middle East, including Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E.

Now, according to Whitehall sources quoted in the Guardian, the Trump administration is considering expanding the ban. 

British officials have said that their U.S. counterparts are looking at extending the ban to flights from Europe.

However, they are not sure if the ban would be extended to the U.K. too.

The ban prevents any devices larger than a smartphone being taken as carry-on luggage.

In Mach, the U.S. Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) sent a “confidential” edict to airlines, that was revealed a day later by some of the airlines.

Then, in a bid to cover up the negative press and criticism from travelers, the Trump administration hastily arranged a press briefing to explain that the ban had been imposed after “intelligence” emerged that terrorists favoured “smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items.”

TSA officials have said that the directive is valid until October 14 this year.

Gillian Christensen, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has said, “We’ve said we will continue to evaluate the threat environment and make determinations based on that assessment, but we have not made any decisions on expanding the current restrictions against large electronic devices in aircraft cabins from selected airports.”

Following the U.S. directive, the U.K. too banned electronic devices on flights from six countries, including Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Turkey.

U.K. airlines including British Airways and easyJet were among those affected.

Apart from some Middle Eastern flights cutting flights to the U.S. after being affected by the ban, it also left passengers worried that the gadgets may get damaged in the hold.

Some airlines meanwhile offered tablets and laptops to people traveling on the business class.

Another Whitehall source reportedly said, “As with everything from Trump's America, there are conflicting reports about where, when and what.”