The Trumpian trial-balloon on banning laptops in the cabins of planes coming from Europe has put the shits way up the airline industry (rightly), who have published their own (data-free) costings for such a ban: $1B, with $216M for delays, $655M from lost productivity, and $195M for renting airline-supplied devices to use while your laptop is in the cargo hold, awaiting its destiny in one or more of employee theft, gross destruction, or massive lithium-battery fires.
“Traveling with your laptop is part of everyday life,” the trade group’s CEO told Bloomberg News in an interview this morning. “We are not sure that this ban is adapted to the threat. We don’t know what is the basis or intelligence that justifies this measure.”
The trade group argues that the U.S. could consider other measures against the possible threat of bombs disguised as electronic gadgets, like more intensive screening for explosives and wider use of pre-screening program for frequent travelers like the Transportation Safety Administration’s PreCheck.
Airline Industry Says Expanding Ban On Laptops Would Cost Travelers $1 Billion [Laura Northrup/Consumerist]
(Image: Sean MacEntee, CC-BY)