Personal electronic device ban must change, IATA director-general says

Speaking at the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Annual General Meeting in Cancun, Mexico, IATA Director-General Alexandre de Juniac said cracks were beginning to show in the natural partnership on security between governments and airlines.

Specifically, de Juniac was referring to a recent decision by the United States and the United Kingdom to ban large personal electronic devices from passenger cabins on select flights originating from Middle Eastern and North African airports.

The ban extends to laptops, tablet computers, and other personal electronic devices (PEDs) larger than a smartphone, all of which must be stored in checked baggage prior to boarding. Both the United States and United Kingdom cited intelligence reports as reason for their restrictions.

“We need to get security right,” de Juniac said. “There is a clear duty to make sure that the measures are logical, effective and efficient. This is not the case with the current ban. And it must change.”

In questioning the reasoning for the ban, de Juniac said both countries were not aligned on the specific airports that presented risks for passengers and that Canada, Australia, and New Zealand have been able to mitigate threats without banning PEDs.

In a separate presentation, IATA Director of Security Matthew Vaughn and Senior Vice President Nick Careen outlined several short-term alternative measures that could be taken including expanding the use of explosive trace detection, expanding anti-tampering PED analysis, increasing training of screeners, and increasing the deployment of behavioral detection officers and explosives-detecting dogs.