It's starting to look like an electronics ban on flights from Europe to the United States may not be imminent. But no one outside of government knows for sure — not even airlines.
Most airline CEOs have avoided harshly criticizing the U.S. and UK electronics bans. That makes sense, because airlines do not want to anger their security regulators. But IATA's CEO has no such concerns, so he can speak more honestly.
Many industry insiders are surprised the U.S. electronics ban includes flights from Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi. Is there a valid security concern for adding those airports? Or could something more sinister be taking place?
A ban on large electronic devices may be necessary to keep travelers safe, but many in the travel community are not happy with how U.S. and UK authorities announced the new policy. Could we see some tweaks to the rules in the near future?
It's interesting that the UK left off three of the busiest airports in the Middle East — Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Why are they making a different calculation than U.S. authorities?