Trump Widens Scope Of Laptop Ban Up To The UK

It seems that Trump wants to extend the scope of his electronics travel ban to the UK as well. The controversial electronics ban, which was enforced by both the United States and the United Kingdom last March, involves the checking in of all electronic devices larger than a mobile phone because of "innovative threats in terrorism." Apparently, bombs and other explosives can now be hidden in these gadgets.

But President Donald Trump isn't contented, according to the RT. Although no final decision has been made yet, he's contemplating on including the UK in the countries banned on taking electronic devices on aircraft cabins. Corresponding security chiefs in Britain are now being informed of the said move.

A senior Whitehall source through The Sun UK told the Times that other European locations can be affected as well. The UK and other European aviation security are on alert as the law can be implemented in the near future.

In a statement made by the US Department of Homeland Security, they said: "We will continue to evaluate the threat environment and make determinations based on that assessment but we have not made any decisions on expanding the current restrictions against large electronic devices in aircraft cabins from selected airports. The safety and security of the traveling public is our highest priority. We keep aviation security under constant review."

In the US, 10 Middle Eastern airports are already affected by the electronics ban. They are airports located in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Qatar. For the UK, they've only restricted the gadget ban on flights from Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon.

Security experts are still wondering why Trump would want to extend the electronic flight ban to Europe. Some said it's because of the growing interest of terrorist groups in the aviation industry, while some think it's because of the growing number of Europeans joining these militant groups as well.