
US Floats Blanket Ban on Laptops in Airplane Cabins
It might never get off the ground. Talks with EU commissioners over America’s threat to ban in-cabin laptops on European flights ended with the idea being nixed. But Homeland Security is now considering an even more drastic option: Banning in-cabin laptops on all international flights. Officials say they’re concerned about terrorism, though a hold filled with lithium batteries carries its own risks. Some worry it’ll devastate U.S. tourism and the airline industry, as carrier Emirates saw profits drop 82 percent after being hit with an identical ban.