DHS Secretary John Kelly: “We are going to raise the bar for… aviation security much higher than it is now.”
US Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly on Sunday revealed that the Trump administration is considering banning laptops from passenger cabins of all international flights to and from the United States.
Kelly’s remark came as an answer to a question on a Fox News show. Asked if he would expand an existing ban to cover laptops on all international flights into and out of the US, he answered: “I might.”
“There’s a real threat. Numerous threats against aviation, that’s really the thing that they are obsessed with, the terrorists, the idea of knocking down an airplane in flight, particularly if it’s a US carrier; particularly it’s full of mostly US folks, people. It’s real,” the secretary said.
Kelly pointed to a March 21 ban on large electronic devices in the cabins from 10 Middle East and North African airports.
“The very, very good news is that we are working incredibly close with friends and partners around the world. We’re going to, and in the process of defining this, but we are going to raise the bar for generally speaking aviation security much higher than it is now,” he said.
The secretary also spoke about Trump’s six-country travel ban and said that it’s just a travel pause for 90 days.
“We have to figure out a way to determine who they are and why they come into the United States. Otherwise, we’re guessing. And this president and John Kelly doesn’t want to guess when it comes to national security and protection of the US population,” he added.