Cracks are beginning to show in the “natural partnership” on security between governments and airlines, Alexandre de Juniac, director general and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), said Monday at IATA’s Annual General Meeting in Cancun, Mexico.
De Juniac, who has been critical of U.S. and U.K. government restrictions on the carriage of large personal electronic devices (PEDs) in the passenger cabins on flights from select Middle East and North African airports, said, “We need to get security right. There is a clear duty to make sure that the measures are logical, effective and efficient. This is not the case with the current ban. And it must change.”
In March, acting on intelligence, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security implemented restrictions on flights from 10 Middle East and North African airports to the United States that required all laptops, tablets and other PEDs larger than a smartphone or cell phone to be carried in checked baggage …
