US officials are considering greatly expanded airline laptop ban. Photo: AFP/ANWAR AMRO

Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly has said he is considering banning laptops from the passenger cabins of all international flights to and from the United States.

Speaking to Fox News Sunday over the weekend, Mr Kelly replied he “might” significantly expand the ban when asked whether he would consider prohibiting laptops on all international flights into and out of the US.

This move would dramatically expand the current ban announced in March, that affects about 50 flights per day from 10 cities, mostly in the Middle East. The current ban was put in place because of concerns about terrorist attacks.

US Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said he is considering expanding the laptop ban to include all international flights to and from the US. Photo: AP Photo/Susan WalshSource:AP

Earlier this month, there were reports that the Trump administration would broaden the ban to include planes from the European Union, affecting trans-Atlantic routes that carry as many as 65 million people a year.

US officials have said that initial ban was not based on any specific threat but on longstanding concerns about extremists targeting jetliners.

“There’s a real threat,” Mr Kelly said, adding that terrorists are “obsessed” with the idea of downing a plane in flight, “particularly if it’s a US carrier, particularly if it’s full of mostly US folks. It’s real.”

Mr Kelly said that the US is going “to raise the 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 making that decision until we see where it’s going.”

The airline laptop ban prevents travellers from bringing laptops, tablets and certain other devices on board with them in their carry-on bags. All electronics bigger than a smartphone must be checked in.