On Monday, the Trump administration banned 13 airlines that fly from Africa and the Middle East into the United States from allowing passengers to have electronics in their carry-on luggage.
The ban, which goes into effect Tuesday, does exclude cell phones and medical devices from the ban, but all other electronic devices, including laptops, would be required to be packed in checked baggage rather than carry-on, according to a tweet from Royal Jordanian Airlines.
According to a congressional aide, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly briefed lawmakers this weekend on the security concerns that led to the electronics ban, with one government source telling the Associated Press that the ban had been in consideration for several weeks.
However, according to Jeffrey Price, a professor at Metropolitan State University of Denver, “there would be a huge disadvantage to having everyone put their electronics in checked baggage,” including an increased risk that baggage thefts would skyrocket, especially since that was the case in London when a similar policy was enacted in 2006.
“Some laptops have batteries that can catch fire and it’s easier to detect it when it’s in the cabin rather than burning in the hold,” he added.
However, it can be argued that electronics are more thoroughly scanned by checked baggage security rather than the X-Ray machines of carry-on baggage.