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Safety concerns heighten over packed electronic devices on planes

THE Flight Safety Foundation, an international research non-profit, is calling on the airline industry to study the threat from storing electronics devices, such as laptops, as checked luggage in cargo that could overheat if unintentionally left turned on.

The Trump administration is studying whether to expand a ban on electronics in the cabins of some flights from the Middle East and Africa.

"The increased risk from possibly concentrating hundreds of these devices must be considered, along with the risk from stowing them next to other dangerous goods," the foundation said.

CEO of the International Air Transport Association, Alexandre de Juniac, said the electronics ban is a measure "that cannot stand up to the scrutiny of public confidence in the long term."

Department of Homeland Security officials announced the ban on March 21, with airlines given 96 hours to comply. The ban prohibited electronics larger than mobile phones in the cabins of non-stop flights of nine airlines from 10 airports in eight countries.

The move comes after FBI testing uncovered vulnerabilities in airport screening that could miss explosives planted in laptops. The risks were discovered in the recovery of fragments of undisclosed materials that highlighted new bomb-making techniques.

"When the stuff discharges, it's similar to napalm," Captain John Cox, a former airline pilot who is now a safety expert at Safety Operating Systems, told USA TODAY.

Last year there were 33 battery fires on airlines. Mr Cox said FAA needs to update its guidance and airlines need to train their crews more on how to deal with the batteries.