The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is bringing into force a new rule that will apply to some overseas flights into the US, which will see passengers having to leave behind their electronic devices if they are not charged.
The TSA has stated that any passenger flying into the US must turn on devices such as cell phones before boarding, and if their devices do not turn on, they will not be allowed to take them onto the flight.
Speaking of the new changes, a statement released by the TSA said: “As the traveling public knows, all electronic devices are screened by security officers.”
While this new rule is only being applied to overseas flights, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson has spoken about the possibility of it making its way to domestic flights, saying that they “continue to reevaluate things.”
“The screening we have right domestically from one domestic airport to another is pretty robust, as the American traveling public knows,” Johnson continued. “In this instance we felt that it was important to crank it up some at the last point of departure airports and we’ll continually evaluate the situation.”
While it has not been made clear exactly why this new rule has been set in place, it’s currently being employed in a number of undisclosed overseas airports, so there’s a strong likelihood it’ll be making its way to the US sooner rather than later.
