U.S. airline passengers will have to take tablet computers and other large electronic devices out of carry-on bags for inspection as the government phases in tighter screening prompted by fears terror groups can hide bombs in them.

Most passengers already had to remove laptops from their bags when going through security, and now will need to remove e-readers, tablet computers and other devices so they can be X-rayed separately, the Transportation Security Administration said Wednesday.

TSA said the new measures will be imposed in the “weeks and months ahead.”

“By separating personal electronic items such as laptops, tablets, e-readers and handheld game consoles for screening, TSA officers can more closely focus on resolving alarms and stopping terror threats,” TSA Acting Administrator Huban A. Gowadia said in a statement.

The move, which comes at the peak summer travel season, is part of a sweeping overhaul of how airport security agencies screen electronics following intelligence that terror groups have refined their ability to sneak bombs in laptops and other devices. It follows an announcement from the Department of Homeland Security that imposed similar requirements on almost 280 airports in more than 100 countries outside of the U.S.

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly had threatened for months to impose a ban on large electronic devices in airline cabins for all flights headed to the U.S. after imposing such restrictions in March on flights leaving from 10 airports in the Middle East and North Africa. The agency stopped short of a ban in a June order, requiring additional screening of electronics instead, and allowing passengers at the 10 airports to resume carrying on their devices.

Wednesday’s order won’t apply to passengers enrolled in TSA’s PreCheck program.


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