general

Travelers at some US airports are being asked to place electronic devices bigger than a cellphone in separate bins so that they can be examined more closely. The TSA said Wednesday that it has been testing the procedure at 10 airports for more than a year, and it may be expanded nationwide. TSA officials say overstuffed bags take longer to examine with X-ray machines. The pilot program is "an effort to de-clutter baggage," said agency spokesman Michael England. There are no changes to what is allowed in carry-on bags, and people enrolled in the Precheck program can still leave laptops in their bags during screening, he said. Most travelers already must remove laptops from bags when they go through security checkpoints. In the test lanes at the 10 airports, they are no longer being allowed to lay machines on top of bags or with other electronic devices — each device must have its own bin.<br/>Requiring travelers to spread their belongings among more bins could slow down the screening process. TSA said it is testing ways to make screening quicker and more targeted.<br/>

The US Homeland Security Department said Wednesday that no specific timeline had been set for a decision on whether to expand a ban on larger electronics as carry-on luggage for air travel. DHS spokesman David Lapan said at a briefing there was "nothing imminent" that would require an immediate decision to expand the ban on laptops, which currently applies to 10 mostly Middle Eastern airports. He also said there has been no discussion on expanding the ban to domestic US flights or flights leaving the United States. In March, the United States announced laptop restrictions on flights originating from 10 airports, including in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, because of fears a bomb could be concealed in electronic devices taken aboard aircraft. Britain quickly followed suit with restrictions on a slightly different set of routes. Lapan reiterated that DHS still believed it was "likely" the US ban will be expanded. He said talks with Europe were not a "negotiation" over whether to expand the airports covered because Homeland Security director John Kelly would make any decision based strictly on an analysis of threats. DHS and European officials held a working group level meeting on Tuesday but no new talks are currently scheduled, Lapan said.<br/>

The US Treasury is reviewing licenses for Boeing and Airbus to sell aircraft to Iran, department head Steven Mnuchin said on Wednesday, telling lawmakers he would increase sanctions pressure on Iran, Syria and North Korea. "We will use everything within our power to put additional sanctions on Iran, Syria and North Korea to protect American lives," Mnuchin said in testimony to the House Ways and Means Committee. "I can assure you that's a big focus of mine and I discuss it with the president." Mnuchin did not elaborate on the review of the licenses, which were issued under a 2015 agreement between Tehran and world powers to lift sanctions in return for curbs on Iran's nuclear activities. His statements followed President Donald Trump’s Middle East trip, in which he called on Iran to stop funding "terrorists and militias." The review suggests that Trump's support for Boeing's defense and jetliner businesses could have political limits. Iran has accused Washington of supporting terrorism by backing rebels in Syria and says halting the airplane deals would breach the 2015 nuclear agreement.<br/>

Federal safety regulators are telling airlines to remove a certain type of seat from their planes, saying the seat could cause neck injuries during otherwise survivable crash landings. The order covers 10,482 seats used mostly on mostly smaller regional jets. Airlines will have five years to remove the seats. The FAA proposed the action last year and made it final on Wednesday. The FAA says the seats can slide forward in crashes and cause passengers' heads to slide down the back of the seats in front of them, hitting their chins on the tray tables. Zodiac Seats California, the seat maker, and two companies that use the seats in their planes, Canada's Bombardier and Brazil's Embraer, argued that the order was based on limited research. Delta Air Lines called for more testing.<br/>