Goelz added that more money needs to be dedicated to improving screening of electronic devices in airports, because it is currently “very difficult to determine whether a dense object is actually a battery or a plastic explosive” – which doesn’t exactly fill you with confidence about your next flight, does it?

Also unclear is whether safety will necessarily be increased by storing computers in the hold. Clive Irving at The Daily Beast reports that there are “fears in the aviation industry that as well as guarding against bombs this ban could actually endanger flights”, as computer devices with lithium-ion batteries have been known to set on fire – which could set off a deadly blaze in a cargo hold.

Laptops are set to be banned on all flights from Europe to the US