Talks on airplane laptop ban end with no ban, with more talks promised

[brooklynite]

Source: CNBC

Talks on a proposed U.S. ban on laptops and tablets in flights from Europe ended Wednesday with no ban — and a promise of more talks and better intelligence sharing.

For days now, European Union officials have been hoping for details on the threat that prompted the proposed ban — the same details that U.S. President Donald Trump discussed with Russian diplomats at the White House last week.

The airline industry came out against the proposal in a strongly worded letter that said it would cause a severe downturn in trans-Atlantic air travel and cost travelers more than a billion dollars in lost time.

On Wednesday, in a secure room in Brussels, officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the European Union swapped information about threats involving air travel. An official who followed the talks said the ban was "off the table" for now. He spoke on condition of anonymity to release details of the sensitive negotiations.

Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/18/laptop-ban-talks-end.html

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

1. Possibly the one good thing about a laptop ban would

be that since people would have to check their laptops, they'd get sensible about actually checking some of their luggage instead of dragging it all on to the plane.

I just wish the carry-on limits were actually enforced.

[crazycatlady]

3. If I have a choice I fly Southwest

For the reason of checking bags. When I fly another airline, I am usually the first to volunteer if they ask for gate checkers.

(Last time I flew was on the company dime. I was only allowed to expense one checked bag.)

[alarimer]

5. One airline was putting the laptops and tablets in boxes.

And they were labeled with the person's name and details and checked at the gate. I guess it took forever, but it also ensured that the baggage handlers never got a hold of them to toss them around.

I think it's not workable long-term but seemed to work okay for now.

I wish I could remember which airline or airport this was.

[deurbano]

6. I thought it might have been Dubai? They also really carefully wrapped the items in bubble

wrap (or something) before putting them in the boxes. At least it would be better than putting computers and cameras in checked luggage, but the time needed would make flying that much more of a pain.

Also... we checked our daughter's wheelchair at the gate (as usual) on a recent flight to Europe, and later (the day after the flight) realized one tire seemed a little low... but it was a solid tire (maybe there's a different adjective than "solid," but I mean you can't just put air in it and patch it), so then it started trailing something that seemed like salt (museum guards first noticed it!)... and it turned out whatever the tire was stuffed with was leaking out from the damaged seal... so we had to rent another wheelchair, and it wasn't easy to figure out how to do that, especially since we weren't just in one city. Similar wheelchair problems happen a good percentage of the time after we have checked the wheelchair at the gate. So... if they eventually follow through with this plan, I hope they do better with electronics than with wheelchairs!

[cstanleytech]

2. While its certainly possible to put a small bomb in a laptop in theory its also

possible to put one in a cellphone as well as in something as simple as a shoe but they arent banning sneakers.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

4. I was relived to get home from Europe yesterday with my laptop

I live in constant dread of what bureaucrats and terrorists are going to do to make my life more frustrating.

[Blue_Tires]

7. I'm pretty sure the Boeing and Airbus reminded the airlines that

tossing a shitload of lithium ion battery-powered laptops into the cargo hold might not be the safest course of action...