European governments are holding urgent talks today with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, alarmed at a proposed expansion of the U.S. ban on in-flight laptops and tablets to include planes from the EU.
The Associated Press reports the proposal could affect 65 million passengers per year on the trans-Atlantic routes, which are among the world’s busiest. The current ban, in place on 10 mostly Middle Eastern cities since March, affects about 50 flights per day.
Chief among the concerns are whether any new threat prompted the proposal, says European Commission transport spokeswoman Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, who confirmed the talks.
She says the EU had no new information about a specific security concern.
U.S. officials say the decision in March to bar laptops and tablets from the cabins of some international flights, mostly from the Mideast, wasn’t based on any specific threat but on longstanding concerns about extremists targeting jetliners.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security organized a telephone conference with “key European partners”—France, Britain, Germany, Spain and Italy. It will be a ministerial level call. The French attendee is expected to be Louis Gautier, secretary general for defense and national security.
Jenny Burke, a Homeland Security spokeswoman, says no final decision has been made on expanding the restriction.
Alain Bauer, president of the CNAPS, a French regulator of private-sector security agents, including those checking baggage and passengers in France’s airports, is predicting “chaotic” scenes initially if the ban was instituted.
“Imagine the number of people who carry their laptops and tablets onto planes—not just adults, but also children,” he tells the AP.
He says the ban would slow passage through security checks as people try to negotiate a way of keeping their laptops. “It’s not like losing your water bottle or your scissors. It will take more time to negotiate,” he adds.
