Laptop Ban Will Not Affect Flights From U.S. Airports

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will not be expanding its ban on electronics to flights departing the United States, it said on Wednesday.

While DHS has not decided whether to extend the ban to incoming flights from Europe, it is not considering expanding it to flights leaving from U.S. airports, either internationally or domestically, it said. 

Representatives from E.U. countries requested last week’s meeting after becoming “alarmed” over reports of the ban’s expansion, the Associated Press reported. 

According to the International Air Transport Association, the ban would cost travelers more than $1 billion, affecting more than 400 daily routes and 65 million passengers each year.

The United States in March banned all electronics bigger than a smartphone on flights from eight countries in the Middle East. That affected about 50 flights a day from the United States on nine carriers: Egyptair, Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways, Kuwait Airways, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, Royal Jordanian Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Turkish Airlines.

The United Kingdom matched the ban shortly after it was announced, banning devices larger than 6.3 by 3.7 inches from all cabins on U.K.-bound flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) also has begun testing new screening procedures that will call for separate screening of laptops and tablets, along with some food items, at security checkpoints. But TSA said those tests are not expected to be pushed nationwide and are not related to the discussions over the laptop ban.