Earlier this year, a measure by the Trump administration banned laptops and tablets from flights to eight majority-Muslim countries. The Trump administration’s next move was to expand the ban to European countries, but it wasn’t approved by U.S. and EU officials during a meeting in Brussels.
The countries currently affected by the ban are Turkey, Morocco, Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.
For the time being, the proposal is “off the table” according to the Associated Press. Officials are scheduled to meet in Washington DC next week to continue discussing the measure.
Controversy arose after the initial ban was set in place. U.S. officials quickly defended their actions, pointing towards military intelligence that ISIS was working on smaller bombs that could fit inside small electronic devices. The new ban expanding to Europe would have affected 390 flights per day, according to the International Air Transport Association, with a loss of $1.1 billion due to loss of productivity and longer travel times. Currently, 350 flights per week are being affected on flights to the eight Middle Eastern countries.
For now, your trips to Europe won’t be affected
For the time being, trips from Europe won’t be affected by any bans. If you want to binge on your favorite series during a transatlantic flights, feel free to do so.
Once U.S. officials continue to push the measure, we’ll pass along any new developments.
