The lawmaker said he anticipates that more airports, more countries will be taking unilateral action.
A US lawmaker briefed on the intelligence that led to restrictions against carrying electronic devices on some flights from the Middle East said the terror threat is real and predicted other nations would broaden the ban.
Representative John Katko, a New York Republican who is chairman of the House Transportation Security Subcommittee, said he received a classified briefing on the US rule announced last week targeting flights from 10 airports including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Cairo and Istanbul.
“I can tell you the threat is real and it is serious,” Katko said Wednesday at a security conference in Washington. The lawmaker said he anticipates that “more airports, more countries will be taking unilateral action.”
Britain followed the US Transportation Security Administration’s lead shortly after it was announced. The order prohibits people from carrying electronics including mobile phones and cameras aboard planes from the specified airports.
The US Department of Homeland Security initially said the curbs on flights were a response to “evaluated intelligence” suggesting that terrorist groups were targeting airlines with innovative methods, including “smuggling explosive devices in various consumer items. — Bloomberg
