Anyone know the current status of the laptop ban (air flights to the US)?

[genevieve]

I will be flying into the US from Hanoi next week on Qatar Airways, with an overnight layover in Qatar, and I'm having a hard time finding out the current status of the laptop ban. I really don't want to put my laptop in my checked baggage if I don't have to, as this came up long after I'd left the US and I don't have a hard case for it.

I've googled and have gotten conflicting information. A lot of articles say that the ban expire in the summer, but recent articles talk about a questionnaire that is being given to passengers in addition to the laptop ban. On top of all this, I'm not clear if the ban is for all incoming US flights, or only ones on airlines or from destinations specifically called out (neither Qatar nor Qatar Airways has appeared in any lists I've seen). I don't even know where to look for the real deal, and the only answer I've gotten on a travel-specific forum is "TSA sucks!", which is not only unhelpful, but painfully obvious.

Help a girl out?

 

[DobrinFan]

I carried my laptop on the plane when flying back from Beijing in November. There were signs posted at the ticket counter not to carry your laptop in your checked luggage so I had to carry-on. I had a little problem with the TSA at the Toronto airport but it had nothing to do with my laptop

Homeland security says you can carry on, no international restrictions
https://www.dhs.gov/news/2017/03/21...ncements-select-last-point-departure-airports

 

[Aceon6]

@genevieve A family friend flew in from Indonesia last week. He said that all the US passport holders were screened separately. He had to turn on his laptop, camera, iPad and phone. He carried all on to the flight, but was prepared to wrap his laptop in clothes and check it if needed. Once he got to SFO, TSA was a bigger pain in the ass. He got the full treatment. I guess a dark haired scuba instructor is really suspicious!

 

[Deleted member 1204]

No problems from Frankfurt to the US either. Secondary screening, but nothing else.

 

[skatemomaz]

I flew from China and from Japan in the past 6 months. Didn't have a problem with my laptop departing either country.

 

[genevieve]

In case anyone wants to know, here's what happened. A reminder, I was flying on Qatar Airways from Doha, Qatar. I don't expect this will be the situation for people flying from Europe.

I was able to carry my laptop in my carry-on. In fact, I wasn't allowed to check it (as DobrinFan experienced)

There was a separate security check at the gate, with 3 parts.

1) Electronics examination. There was quite the backup here, because there was inadequate signage and explanation, so everyone was getting things out right at the point of examination. I only carried 1 laptop, so it wasn't a big deal, but the family in front of me had 2 laptops, 3 kindles AND 3 iPads (for 2 adults and a child), and had to take all devices out of their cases/holders. Electronics that passed inspection were placed in a plastic bag, sealed, and we had to carry them separately until we got through the rest of security.

2) Useless questions. Had to approach someone at a podium 5 feet from the electronics exam portion, show them the ticket with the electronics approval, answer simple questions about my stuff that I don't remember but anyone with 2 brain cells would have known how to answer "correctly". Things like "did you pack your bag yourself".

3) Airport security check 2.0. Conveyor belt with metal detector. More stringent than the security check to get into the airport. I set off the alarm, as I always do, and got felt up down and sideways by the agent. That happens to me a lot at airports, but this was the most intimate. No cigarette was offered afterwards. One final check on my ticket before I was released to the seating area, where I could finally take my laptop out of the sealed bag and repack it.

I was really grateful that I got to the gate early, which I almost didn't, because getting through the initial airport security was pretty painless and there were charging stations in another part of the airport. People who showed up closer to the boarding time were totally backed up and boarding was delayed by 20 minutes. There was inadequate room for all of this, and because of the security gate, it was impossible to fill up a water bottle for the flight (which sucked because Qatar Airways does not do consistent beverage service).

 

[PRlady]

In case anyone wants to know, here's what happened. A reminder, I was flying on Qatar Airways from Doha, Qatar. I don't expect this will be the situation for people flying from Europe.

I was able to carry my laptop in my carry-on. In fact, I wasn't allowed to check it (as DobrinFan experienced)

There was a separate security check at the gate, with 3 parts.

1) Electronics examination. There was quite the backup here, because there was inadequate signage and explanation, so everyone was getting things out right at the point of examination. I only carried 1 laptop, so it wasn't a big deal, but the family in front of me had 2 laptops, 3 kindles AND 3 iPads (for 2 adults and a child), and had to take all devices out of their cases/holders. Electronics that passed inspection were placed in a plastic bag, sealed, and we had to carry them separately until we got through the rest of security.

2) Useless questions. Had to approach someone at a podium 5 feet from the electronics exam portion, show them the ticket with the electronics approval, answer simple questions about my stuff that I don't remember but anyone with 2 brain cells would have known how to answer "correctly". Things like "did you pack your bag yourself".

3) Airport security check 2.0. Conveyor belt with metal detector. More stringent than the security check to get into the airport. I set off the alarm, as I always do, and got felt up down and sideways by the agent. That happens to me a lot at airports, but this was the most intimate. No cigarette was offered afterwards. One final check on my ticket before I was released to the seating area, where I could finally take my laptop out of the sealed bag and repack it.

I was really grateful that I got to the gate early, which I almost didn't, because getting through the initial airport security was pretty painless and there were charging stations in another part of the airport. People who showed up closer to the boarding time were totally backed up and boarding was delayed by 20 minutes. There was inadequate room for all of this, and because of the security gate, it was impossible to fill up a water bottle for the flight (which sucked because Qatar Airways does not do consistent beverage service).

This was my husband's experience in Lyon, France, flying back to Israel. The extremely intimate patdown (I wanted to tell the guy, hey, that's MINE but restrained myself.) Weird questions (what's your wife's middle name?) and three screenings. TahBka, he and I almost missed the damn plane.

Hope you enjoy your time back home!