Australia considers inflight laptop, tablet ban for airlines

it would increase the risk of accidents as lithium ion batteries are fire hazards, which could bring a plane down. Also increases the risks of laptops being stolen. 

Turnbull, the ultimate​ lapdog fool. Shame.

Not my headphones as well.....We will all be flying naked soon enough.

And i thought Abbott was bad ! Oh my god, what a shocking idea! Doesn't the government have better things to worry about?!

In my eyes, this is completely unnecessary. It is okay to be cautious, but this is plain stupid. All they need to do is tighten the security screening process and making sure there are nothing suspicious is the laptops, tablets etc! Unless they give us a proper reason for this, (security can find this out anyway..) I am not convinced and not for it.

More theatrics in the name of "security" just like the on-going farce of not being able to bring liquids on international flights into Australia. If a ban on electronics was implemented then it would be a farce if it isn't applied to domestic flights too.

But all of these devices are being X-ray scanned before being allowed on board... We've all watched the X-ray screen and seen the insides of our bits and pieces. How can that possibly be insufficient to spot an explosive device? 

Of course will NEVER apply to commercial domestic flying. Too many pollies fly domestic, and we can't p**s them off!! And I'm sure their commercial international flights will allow them to make a claim (taxpayers money of course) for 'inconvenience suffered'. lol. You get the general gist of my point of view.

This will be horrible news for those airlines that are changing IFE options to "bring your own device."

@IM1 I agree, How come x ray machines are suddenly redundant? 

If anyone is a sci-fi nerd like me, will appreciate the reference to the Psi Corps from Babylon 5. How their services would be welcomed right now!

Timely, with direct flights from Australia to Europe starting soon 

Not sure this makes much sense for Oz, we have no direct flights from any of the 'bad' countries (apart from the US!) do we?

This is where airlines can use their IFE systems as web browsers/computers, Airlines provide mouse and keyboard then install web browsers on the IFE system. You could use services such as onedrive to get your work done. (and airlines can make millions of dollars off wifi fees, it's a win, win for everyone)

No doubt the idiots in both major parties will ignore the people they claim to work for about this, just like with the body scanners.

Any risk any intel about this so called threat is much much less then the risk of inaccessable in flight battery fires.

So remind me, why bother with x-ray screening at airports anymore.  Just ban all carry on.

This is crazy...they can detect the atmosphere composition in a planet 50000 light years away...but they can't  keep us safe in the air by being able to detect explosives in a device a few inches from their face despite all these fees we now pay for body scanners..xray machines and explosive  detectors..instead they ban all electronic devices...i can live with out my laptop...but my Bose noise canceling headphones ....no way!!!!...its a joke..and just shows you hiw unsophisticated out airport security really is!!!!!

Banning electronics on planes in case there is a bomb is like banning vehicles from city centres in case there is a lone-wolf looney.

And a lot of work will not be able to be done on loan laptops especially when Internet is made available on flights and customers want to VPN into their corporate network. The loan laptops won't be able to do this unless also carry around the VPN installer and certs which I doubt a loan laptop will let you do anyway. And I imagine there will be a of other restrictions where you can't just carry your work on a USB as all the stuff you need is on a corporate laptop

This is seriously disturbing news on banning electronics on planes from Australia.  We all know that we are not allowed to store batteries and electrical devices in our checked in luggage due to airline regulations, but to hand carry them.  How would you expect business travelers to sit on a long haul flight for over 8 - 16 hours while not working on their laptops for business related matters?  And we all should keep everything on a usb stick, fly now, once on ground then to continue working?  What if your tv on your seat is malfunction, then you will be travelling in hell with no entertainment for the entire flight (better be a red-eye flight!!!  At least to sleep through the entire flight)  This is ridiculous!

I remember the days you had to turn on your laptop to "prove" it was kosher. It may slow things down through security but for mine, as a fairly frequent "carry-on only" traveller, I don't seem to have an option, with no check-in bag to throw my laptop into...........sigh !

@PG1 - I would be content to spend further time in a security line to prove my laptop or tablet as 'legitimate'.  This seems like an appropriate solution and should be promoted as a sensible precaution.

Implementing something like a "trusted traveller" program where business-types could sign up and be vetted ought to be considered.

Like TSA Precheck in the US

If the risk is real, then surely there is a way to vet a laptop / iPad to ensure it is safe? Proving a laptop/iPad vetting service in the lounges where they have a premium (separate) entry to flight-side would be a great option. I'd happily pay an extra $10-20 in the lounge to get a laptop vetted before an international flight . You would quickly cover the cost of vetting through the volume that would likely use the service. Even if it had to stay sealed in a tamper-proof bag only to be opened mid-air.  There has to be a more sensible approach than a blanket ban.

My concern is that I will be in the US at end of month with electronic devices in hand, what happens then?? Suicide bombers are very real & clearly their motives are far beyond the intellect of an Australian to understand. Standing in the cattle line in any US port, then attempting to convince Security Officer/s that my 'electronic devices' are legitimate, is an exercise in futility & is inhuman! 

The USA already have a trusted traveller scheme administered by the TSA. It would be easy enough to implement here. Other than the comment about assembling bits and pieces together from laptops or other electronic devices to make a bomb like device I'm not sure us not having them in the cabin rather than down below makes any difference. Not sure what Trump said to the Ruskis on this topic but I wouldn't mind having some justification put out there. It's really so much secret squirrel claptrap in my humble opinion, probably designed to line someone's pockets or make security agencies look like wankers (and you may interpret the latter how you will!). 

Is ISIS only able to afford single plane tickets at a time? (Maybe they're in an FF program that only allows you to buy for yourself? Hopefully they never switch to housing points in Amex rewards or somewhere that can do the SPG shuffle, the western world will never be the same)

If I can't.have my laptop/surface pro in the cabin and I'm banned from having a device in my checked luggage with a lithium battery (non-removable in surface pro/iPad - then effectively am I banned from taking my device overseas?

And  here was me thinking it was just Trump being his usual irrational overreacting self.  It is bad enough being treated like scum when you go through airport security, now we get treated like murdering scum on board.

BA lost my checked in luggage three times. Now I travel only with carry on. I need to have my laptop with me.
This security madness went too far. In some airports the liquids are not checked in other airports even the size of the plastic bag is an issue. Soon we are going to board the plane naked after having a full body CT scan, gastroscopy, colonoscopy etc. to make sure we are not hiding bombs in our body cavities…

I'm a sports shooter. Every time I go through the screening process at Perth I get sent to the guys with the wand. I soon realised that the sensors in the gates are picking up minute traces of gunpowder on my body and clothes. To test the system I wore clothes that had never been on the range but I still got pulled aside. Apparently GSR, even after showering, stays on your body for a while. These gates are picking up miniscule amounts.

On a recent trip to the UK I got a very thorough screening at Heathrow, even though I hadn't used a firearm in some time. I asked the guy with the wand if I tested positive as I went through the gate and he said yes. These gates certainly do their job both in the UK and in Australia. I wasn't stopped in Dubai and maybe that's where the problem lies.

Hey people, a simple solution is to fly via Singapore, Hong Kong or Indonesia, direct to U.K. Or Europe. You don't need to fly through the Arab Areas, a lot more options are open to the business flyers.

Stupid and utterly pointless. They place all the lithium ion batteries in the cargo hold, what makes them think terrorists won't use that to their advantage? 

 @Henry_168, The article states "on certain international airline flights", read Middle East Carriers!