US to ban some airline passengers from carrying larger electronics

Passengers make their way in a security checkpoint at the International JFK airport in New York October 11, 2014. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

WASHINGTON: Passengers travelling on certain US-bound foreign airline flights will have to check electronic devices larger than a cellphone once US authorities formalise a new ban in response to an unspecified terrorism threat, US officials told Reuters. 

The new rule is expected to be announced March 21 by the Department of Homeland Security, the officials said, adding that it had been under consideration since the US government learned of a threat several weeks ago.