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US Lifts Laptop Ban on Etihad, Emirates and Turkish Airlines
- demarq 9y agois this a thank you token for putting pressure on Qatar?
- rjsw 9y agoTurkey is supporting Qatar.
- demarq 9y agoI know that, and also Qatar Airways also benefits from this. That's beside the point. The target wasn't commercial but political. The US just chose to put commercial pressure to achieve political goals. Have a look at the demands that were made. EDIT: Qatar is still on the list... ah well.
- wfunction 9y agoI upvoted you (it's nice food for thought) but I'm also hesitant to give anyone bad credit for a good thing. The ban needed to be removed eventually, and it was.
- Quarrelsome 9y agoI'm not buying that as part of US strategy. Saudi vs Qatar seems to be part of the standard Saudi vs Iran stuff that the West tries its best to ignore.
- wavefunction 9y agoThe President is "paying attention": https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/06/trump-qatar-saudi-arabia-terrorism-corker/529479/ https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/06/tr...
- bogomipz 9y agoExcept that the West isn't trying to ignore it, at least not Trump: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/06/trump-qatar-saudi-arabia-terrorism-corker/529479/ https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/06/tr...
- sschueller 9y agoI don't understand why these bans are only for specific airlines. Maybe if the flights originate from specific airports which may have lax security. However the ban is also for flights to those destination originating from the US. If there was a way to turn a laptop into a bomb I am sure the terrorist would just jump on a local US aircraft.
- oceanswave 9y agoWe've always been at war with eastasia
- vxxzy 9y agoI don't think it is so much about it being a "bomb". I'm gonna take a stab and say it may be related to the ability to take over the control system of the plane via a laptop/wifi [1]. It would make sense to some degree if the US knew that an airline had planes that were "unpatched". [1]: http://observer.com/2016/02/midair-hack-shows-the-dangers-of-in-flight-wi-fi/ http://observer.com/2016/02/midair-hack-shows-the-dangers-of...
- rigden33 9y agoNo it's almost certainly due to the recent intel that found that ISIL had developed a way to hide bombs in laptops to evade airport security. http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/31/politics/terrorist-laptop-bombs-may-evade-security/index.html http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/31/politics/terrorist-laptop-bomb... http://heavy.com/news/2017/05/isis-laptop-bomb-threat-planes-carry-on-ban-europe-middle-east/ http://heavy.com/news/2017/05/isis-laptop-bomb-threat-planes...
- utucuro 9y agoOn related news, Millimeter wave scanners are being installed in Turkish airports after the lifting of the ban...
- moontear 9y agoAre you kidding?
- donquichotte 9y agoMade by an US manufacturer?
- clamprecht 9y agoI'm not sure if this has hit the US news, but from a few days go in Argentina news, the US is going to require special scanners in the airports in other countries (Spanish article, English translation below): http://www.iprofesional.com/notas/252113-computadoras-tecnologia--Sumaran-mas-escanners-en-Ezeiza-tras-las-medidas-que-impuso-EEUU http://www.iprofesional.com/notas/252113-computadoras-tecnol... "The United States government will strengthen security measures for people traveling to that country with computers and tablets. Official sources from that country confirmed that you can still travel normally, with personal electronic devices. However, they said that in three weeks the stricter controls will apply. ....airports and airlines flying to the United States from 105 countries of the world, including Argentina, will be asked to install state-of-the-art scanners that detect traces of explosives in electronic equipment....From the moment they request it, passengers traveling to the USA from airports or by companies that do not have them, will not be able to carry either computers or tablets on board. Nor in the cargo hold.... ....In this context, the transport authorities, representatives of the airlines and PSA [airport police] officials met urgently this Friday at the headquarters of the Ministry of Transport to discuss the issue. "What we defined is that this Tuesday we are going to communicate to companies a procedural plan: from what types of scanners to how to get them and how we are going to train those who operate them," explained Oscar Rubio, director of The Airport Security Police, Clarín. In three weeks, passengers of companies or airports that do not have them, will be unable to bring the computers and tablets on board, and perhaps also in the hold because of the current restrictions on equipment containing nickel," added the official...."The truth is that it is not a difficult technology to get, it can be bought, acquired by leasing or through a supplier, it is not impossible, and we are moving with the fastest speed because we want to prevent the restriction from being applied. Therefore, we are not facing a prohibition, but before a new measure. If it is not fulfilled, then the impediment can come."
- tehlike 9y agoThis is making me worried. When i was a student at mit, we had trips to boeing facilities in seattle. One time, i was again selected randomly for explosive trace sample collection from hands. I dont know what it was, but when they put the tissue in the machine, the machine showed a blinking text saying explosive detected. The tsa agent(iirc) paniced, tried to call out his supervisor while trying to keep an eye on me. Now usa probably has more experience with false positives, i am curious how i will be treated when i go visit my parent :)
- bogomipz 9y ago>"The department of Homeland Security initiated the ban in March. It came into effect covering all flights to U.S. destinations from 10 airports in the Middle East, including major travel hubs like Dubai, Abu Dabi and Dohar." So how would a ban at flights originating at these airports prevent someone from exploiting this on a flight with a layover in this airport i.e while the plane was in route to one of these 10 airports? >"While administration officials didn’t comment on any new and specific threats, ..." This is used to justify every questionable action or inaction in the "Endless War on Terror." The claim is always "we can't comment because its an issue of national security." Do people of that "Nation" have no right to be informed about decisions being made on their behalf? Especially where safety is concerned? Shouldn't this information be shared with the citizens of that nation so they can make up their own minds and make informed decisions? This level of infantilizing is just completely unacceptable. Those in the U.S security apparatus seems to take the view that they are parents and everyone else is a child.
- netcoder 9y agoFor international passengers during layover your personal baggage has to go through security check again before boarding next flight.
- throwawayjgo 9y agoIsn't the main reason for the ban the fact that they were worried security checks would be unable to detect bombs in devices like laptops in the first place?
- marcoperaza 9y agoThey are worried about security checks in those countries in particular.
- marcoperaza 9y agoThe government has made pretty clear over the last few months that the reason for the ban was intelligence that jihadist groups had made progress towards developing a laptop bomb. It is pretty reasonable for them to withhold details in order to protect sources and intelligence-gathering techniques.
- hhh000 9y agoThe myth says that Israel has the biggest lobby in the US. In fact Gulf states and Turkey pay 10x to have influence in US politics
- tehlike 9y agoI am looking forward to the day where global entry is applied worldwide :/ breezing through security is pretty nice after being aelected randomly so many times :)
- paulpauper 9y agoThe solution to the laptop bans is portable hard drives .Let the $15/hour worker lose your laptop. the software and files are more important
- paulpauper 9y agoLaptop bans are such a horrible idea. Yes, entrust a $2000+ dollar piece of hardware (with important software and files) to someone who is barely paid enough to care what happens to it.
- NelsonMinar 9y agoNot just don't care, also deliberate theft. It's been a big problem with TSA agents in the United States.
- waqf 9y agoThat doesn't necessarily mean it would have been a problem with middle-eastern airlines. They knew that the entire profitability of their US routes depended on well-off business travellers continuing to trust them — and unlike the TSA, they operate in a competitive market.
- unknownsavage 9y agoThere are plenty of opportunities for things to be stollen from checked in luggage at the arriving airport. This actually happened to me on a flight into the US, with an expensive set of german kitchen knives in checked-in. In the US my suitcase was taken out of the normal line for extra checking (I guess because the knives showed up in an xray?). They then later gave me my suitcase, but the entire knife set was missing. No documentation that it was taken. No one even cared. No recourse. And nothing came of it. If I have something valuable that I couldn't take in my carryon again, I'd rather just DHL than trust the TSA to not steal it.
- cstejerean 9y agoAs someone who flew Emirates to the US during the ban I can assure you that laptops were well taken care of. There was special staff in Dubai to take inventory of laptops and other electronics, securely shrink wrap and pack them, and then seal the bag. Upon arrival in the US there were again special staff that would hand you your laptop box after checking ID and boarding pass, which an airline seal still on it. At no point did I feel like my laptop was handled by someone who doesn't care about what happens to it.
- amorphid 9y agoThis makes me happy. I flew from Istanbul, Turkey to San Francisco, CA, USA while the ban was in place. The actual surrendering my laptop didn't bother me much. What did bother me was the humiliation the Turkish Airlines workers had to endure, and how hard I had to work to suppress my desire to complain about the process. Treating a few airlines differently never appealed to me. I "like" "necessary" suffering to be ubiquitous.