I am sure glad that the authorities are coordinating and cooperating on this critical matter:
The UK?s laptop security predicament | ATW Editor's Blog
The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) provided those numbers and many of its member airlines are concerned. “Implementation of these new security directives will necessitate a number of procedural and operational changes by airlines and airports around the world. Airlines, airports and the relevant government authorities will need to work closely together to avoid unnecessary disruption to the travelling public,” AAPA director general Andrew Herdman noted.
Also, it’s puzzling why the new rules apply to inbound flights to the US, but not outbound. Strong as US airport security now is, if there are new technologies being pursued to potentially slip explosives through the passenger screening process, then shouldn’t the new screening rules apply to the US also? And why target only international flights? The US is the world’s largest domestic aviation market and most terrorist incidents in the US since 9/11 have been inflicted by American citizens living in the US.
Finally, there’s the UK security question. Soon after the US implemented its laptop ban in March, the UK issued a similar ban on flights to Britain from a list of six Middle East and African countries. The UK ban appeared to have been prompted by the US ban, but the two countries’ intelligence authorities apparently did not agree on where the threat lay; they had different target lists.