Wider Laptops Ban to Cost Passengers $1 Billion, Airlines Warn
- Airline lobby group wants role before curbs extend to Europe
- Improved scans, visual checks could offer adequate safeguards
International Air Transport Association Director-General and CEO Alexander de Juniac discusses the U.S. ban on laptops in airliner cabins and the outlook for mergers in the industry. He speaks on 'Bloomberg Markets.' (Source: Bloomberg)
The widening of a U.S. ban on carrying electronic devices aboard aircraft to include flights from Europe would cost travelers more than $1 billion, the airline industry’s global lobby group said.
While existing curbs on some services from the Middle East and North Africa affect 350 U.S.-bound flights per week, extending it to the 28 European Union states plus Switzerland, Norway and Iceland would impact 390 a day, or more than 2,500 a week, the International Air Transport Association estimates. That would cost passengers $655 million in lost productivity, $216 million for longer travel times, and $195 million for renting loaner devices on board, it says.