US Lifts Laptop Ban on Etihad, Emirates and Turkish Airlines

Re:US Lifts Laptop Ban on Etihad, Emirates and Turkish Airlines by vxxzy on Wednesday July 05, 2017 @09:07AM (#14702061)

I don't think it is so much about it being a "bomb". I'm gonna take a stab and say it may be related to the ability to take over the control system of the plane via a laptop/wifi [1]. It would make sense to some degree if the US knew that an airline had planes that were "unpatched".

[1]: http://observer.com/2016/02/midair-hack-shows-the-dangers-of...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:US Lifts Laptop Ban on Etihad, Emirates and Turkish Airlines by rigden33 on Wednesday July 05, 2017 @09:22AM (#14702167)

No it's almost certainly due to the recent intel that found that ISIL had developed a way to hide bombs in laptops to evade airport security. http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/31/politics/terrorist-laptop-bomb... http://heavy.com/news/2017/05/isis-laptop-bomb-threat-planes...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:US Lifts Laptop Ban on Etihad, Emirates and Turkish Airlines by jbg_ on Wednesday July 05, 2017 @01:08PM (#14704187)

Let's see... they developed a way to hide a bomb powerful enough to bring down an airliner inside a laptop, but not a way to buy tickets for flights other than a few specific routes on a few specific airlines? If you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:US Lifts Laptop Ban on Etihad, Emirates and Turkish Airlines by rigden33 on Wednesday July 05, 2017 @01:18PM (#14704287)

I admit it's a little odd. Relatedly, the UK also instituted a similar laptop ban as well. If not the laptop bomb threat, then what do you think it is? http://www.wired.co.uk/article/uk-laptop-ban-flights-explain...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:US Lifts Laptop Ban on Etihad, Emirates and Turkish Airlines by jbg_ on Wednesday July 05, 2017 @01:22PM (#14704328)

I know some (maybe even most) of the affected airlines have significant government ownership. It could therefore be a way of gaining political leverage.

It could also be a leg-up to American carriers competing on those routes. Another commercial option is a tactic to require implementation of security practices that involve American-made equipment.

I'm sure there are many other possibilities that make more sense than the public explanation, which only seems to make sense if we assume the people protecting us are incredibly stupid. I don't think they are, so the public story is probably just a cover.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:US Lifts Laptop Ban on Etihad, Emirates and Turkish Airlines by sqeaky on Wednesday July 05, 2017 @02:20PM (#14704895)

What if instead of being stupid they were artificially limited in some other way?

Perhaps, they wanted a more comprehensive laptop ban but were stopped by someone.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:US Lifts Laptop Ban on Etihad, Emirates and Turkish Airlines by pyre on Wednesday July 05, 2017 @10:25AM (#14702626)

This just reminds me of this: http://dilbert.com/strip/1997-09-10

[ Parent | on HN ]