Laptop ban extension could impact air travel, airlines warn 



Airline bosses are meeting to discuss alternatives to the US and UK bans on laptops and tablets on certain flights, which they say is hurting business as the industry heads for a bumper year.

If the restrictions - brought in amid the ongoing terror threat to aviation - were to be extended to flights between the US and Europe, the lost revenue would total around $1.4bn (ٟbn), the International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimates.

Passengers appear to be avoiding routes where the ban is in place, it said, as it staged its annual gathering in Cancun, Mexico.

Alternative proposals at the talks - which come as British police investigate the third terrorist attack in the UK this year - include sniffer dogs, enhanced bomb-detection technology and better training.

With fuel prices low and 3.8 billion passengers flying last year, IATA's director general Alexandre de Juniache said the industry was "doing quite well".

"Airlines are in the black and it's the eighth year in a row," he said.

"We have no doubt about the threat."

"We have doubt about the measure that has been proposed to ban (electronic devices) from the cabin."

The UK ban on large electronic devices being carried in cabin luggage affects direct inbound flights from Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia.

The devices covered by the ban are laptops, tablets and phones which are larger than a typical smartphone, measuring 16cm by 9.3cm by 1.5cm.

The move followed the United States, which imposed restrictions on flights originating in Cairo, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Kuwait, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Doha and Istanbul in March.

An estimated 50 flights per day, all on foreign carriers, from 10 airports in Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa, are affected by the new rules.

The US Department of Homeland Security has threatened to slap the same ban on flights from Europe, which the IATA, whose 275 member airlines represent 83% of global air traffic, has said would be catastrophic for business.

Article Source: http://news.sky.com/story/laptop-ban-extension-could-impact-air-travel-airlines-warn-10904851
Image Source: https://siteahoy.imgix.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/laptop-ban-on-planes.jpg?auto=format,enhance&h=585&w=1170

VOCABULARY WORDS:
1. Alternative (n.) ~ one of two or more available possibilities
2. Inbound (adj.) ~ traveling toward a particular place, especially when returning to the original point of departure
3. Threaten (v.) ~ state one's intention to take hostile action against someone in retribution for something done or not done
4. Impose (v.) ~ force (something unwelcome or unfamiliar) to be accepted or put in place
5. Catastrophic (adj.) ~ extremely unfortunate or unsuccessful

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION:
1. What is the main reason for the ban of laptops from certain flights?
2. Flights from what ｃountries are included in the ban?
3. Do you think the ban is reasonable and would it be helpful in minimizing the terror threats? Discuss your answer.
4. Do you think laptops should be completely banned on planes? Explain your opinion.