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Kelly: We 'Might' Ban Laptops in Cabins of All International Flights

May 28, 2017

Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said he "might" ban laptops in the cabin of all international flights into and out of the United States during an appearance on "Fox News Sunday."

That bit of intelligence became part of a Washington firestorm this month when reports broke that President Trump shared highly classified information about Islamic State plans to use laptop explosives on airplanes with Russian officials in the Oval Office.

Kelly tersely responded, "I might," when host Chris Wallace asked him if he was planning to institute such a ban.

"There's a real threat," Kelly said. "There's numerous threats against aviation. That's really the thing that they're obsessed with, the terrorists, the idea of knocking down an airplane in flight."

Wallace asked him when he would make a final decision.

"We're still following the intelligence," Kelly said. "The very, very good news is again we are working incredibly close with friends and partners around the world ... We are going to raise bar for, generally speaking, aviation security much higher than it is now, and there's new technologies down the road, not too far down the road that we'll rely on. But it is a real, sophisticated threat, and I'll reserve that decision until we see where it's going."