A spokesperson for Australia’s Infrastructure and Transport Minister, Darren Chester, has confirmed to SBS News the government is not considering following the US or the UK in implementing an in-flight ban on large and medium electronic devices.
Earlier this week the US and UK confirmed devices larger than a mobile phone would be banned from carry-on luggage in flights from several Middle Eastern and North African countries.
France and Canada are reportedly considering similar restrictions.
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But Dr Clive Williams, a member of International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators and a former Australian Defence Intelligence staffer, said he was not surprised Australia wasn’t looking to follow.
“I think it would just be a nuisance for travellers, and it’s not a problem here,” he told SBS News.
“Most of the incidents on aircraft have been on aircraft going to the US.”
While Australia was not enough of a target to justify a ban, he said there was a good reason for the US to be cautious.
“I was a bit surprised that they’d taken so long to getting around to doing it, to be honest,” Dr Williams said.
The ban is likely a response to a February 2016 incident in Somalia in which a terrorist blew a hole in a plane’s fuselage mid-flight with a device which appears to have been concealed as a laptop, he said.
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In that case, the bomber was able to avoid security screening of the explosive device.
“People in the bomb community have been concerned about laptops and devices which could have a bomb in them for a while,” Dr Williams said.
“I think that the reason [the bans] focus on those countries is the lax security and the increased chances of being able to smuggle a device onboard.”
Numerous airlines offer direct flights between Australia and Middle Eastern transport hubs.
Watch: Reactions to the US's electronics ban
