Briana Koeneman
Cockpit Security On United Flights Might Have Been Compromised
United Airlines might have to redo cockpit security after information on how to access the locked area of the plane was compromised.
LEARN MOREPosted: 1:51 p.m. EDT May 15, 2017
Officials from the U.S. and the European Union are scheduled to meet this week to talk about plans to expand a U.S. ban on laptops and tablets to include flights from Europe.
A spokesperson for the European Commission said the proposed ban will be discussed during a "high-level" meeting in Brussels on Wednesday.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has already banned electronics bigger than a cellphone on board flights from several airports in the Middle East and North Africa. Passengers are only allowed to travel with those devices in their checked luggage.
That went into effect in March after officials received intelligence that Al-Qaeda was working on bombs that use little to no metal and could be disguised as electronic devices.
But if the U.S. decides to expand the ban, it would affect millions of passengers on several major European airlines, like Lufthansa and British Airways.
And many travelers aren't too happy about the idea, including those who use their laptops to work while in the air.
Others worry it could be a safety risk. Most of the devices use lithium ion batteries — which are known to randomly explode. If even more personal devices are checked because of the ban, aviation authorities fear the batteries could start deadly fires in the cargo area where no one would be able to put them out.
If the ban is expanded, airline officials say they want to have a say in how it's implemented so they can minimize any inconvenience to their passengers.
