US spares Europe from laptop ban on flights, for now

The US will not impose a ban on carry-on laptops on flights coming from Europe for now, it was officially announced on Monday, though the option is still on the table.

The ban has been in place for some time now for flights from certain regions of the Middle East and North Africa after intelligence reports that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is developing ways to hide explosives in batteries and battery compartments.

''There is no laptop ban on US flights from Europe for now but the option is still on the table,'' Homeland Security spokesperson Dave Lapan announced after a call between Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and European Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos and Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc.

"While a much-discussed expansion of the ban on large electronic devices in the cabin on flights to the United States was not announced today, the secretary made it clear that an expansion is still on the table," Lapan said in a statement.

Lapan was referring to comments by Homeland Security secretary John Kelly who in a call with Avramopoulos and Bulc discussed aviation security.

"Kelly affirmed he will implement any and all measures necessary to secure commercial aircraft flying to the United States - including prohibiting large electronic devices from the passenger cabin - if the intelligence and threat level warrant it," Lapan said, after the conference call between American and European leaders.

Lapan said the American and European leaders agreed to raise the bar for aviation security globally, including through a range of potential seen and unseen enhancements.

"The parties also agreed to continue to work together to secure global aviation and to maintain clear lines of communication and cooperation," he said.

Over the last few months the US has continuously reached out to global aviation partners regarding serious and evolving threats to aviation, and it will continue to do so, Lapan said.

The decision comes just days after Kelly said that the US wanted to "raise the bar" on airline security, including screening certain carry-on items.

The US Transportation Security Administration has already begun testing new procedures to help security agents identify problematic carry-on items. Passengers routinely stuff their carry-on bags with more and more items in order to lighten check-in baggage and pay extra fees, leading to more clutter in carry-on bags that can be difficult for security to screen.

There are roughly 4,300 international flights that take off and land in the US each day, carrying more than a half a million passengers. That amounts to roughly 200 million passengers a year that would potentially have been impacted by the laptop ban.