More than half of European and US travel buyers are “very concerned” about access to proprietary information on travellers’ mobile devices, following a ruling brought in last week regarding electronic equipment at major airports, an exclusive study has found.
Last week selected airports in the US and the UK said they now require passengers to power up their electronic devices as they pass through security. Any devices that have a dead battery will not be allowed on the flight.
The research from ACTE found that 57 per cent of European and 68 per cent of US buyers are ‘very concerned’ that there has been no explanation as to what happens to cell phones and laptops that are denied boarding and this leaves them vulnerable to losing private information left on the device.
The study of 88 European and 156 US buyers also found many are “rethinking” existing policies about business travellers carrying proprietary information on their devices.
The “power up” ruling came after an apparent terror threat prompted the US to announce extra security checks last week.
The increased screening of electronic devices was first brought in by the US Transport Screening Administration (TSA) on July 7.
The study showed just 5 per cent of European and 2 per cent of US buyers thought the US TSA “did a good job in alerting the travel public and the business travel industry” about the change in procedure.
Some 94 per cent of European buyers said airports don’t offer “adequate” charging stations to business travellers, however only 3 per cent of their travellers have so far reported problems with devices failing.
ACTE’s executive director Greeley Koch, said: “As a business traveller, I appreciate the challenges faced by the TSA. Their primary function is security, not customer service.
“There has to be a way to improve the latter without compromising the former.”
He added: "Statements from the TSA should reassure and inform travellers. Recent announcements regarding security levels did neither. They were too vague to serve as a warning and lacked the detail required for reassurance.
"It is unlikely that many business travellers will show up at the airport with spent batteries in their cell phones, hand-held devices, and laptops, but it can happen,” said Koch.
"What follows next is not clear. If the electronic device cannot board the aircraft, where does it go? Is it detained, to be shipped later? Or is it to be repackaged as checked baggage at the gate?"