Brussels to reveal secret list of items banned on planes

The European Commission is facing pressure to publish a list of items banned from being carried on board airplanes, with the EU's top court adviser describing Brussels' secretive attitude as "fundamentally absurd".

The case was triggered by a German traveller, Gottfried Heinrich, in 2005.

Mr Gottfried was ordered to leave the aircraft before its take off from Vienna because he was carrying some tennis rackets. The security staff argued the rackets could be used as a weapon, but did not allow Mr Heinrich to see the official list of banned items.

On Thursday (10 April), Eleanor Sharpston, an advocate general and a legal adviser to the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice, issued a strongly-worded opinion slamming the EU executive's stance.

She pointed out that if it is obliged to keep the list secret then the fact that it issued a press release on the topic in 2002 was a "flagrant violation" and that the current situation cannot be tolerated.

The European Commission, for its part, announced that the list of objects banned from aeroplane cabins would soon be available to the public. However, its spokesperson added that certain elements should not be communicated to those who would want to smuggle weapons onto planes.

"We're talking about measures that sometimes cannot be published ... we want to protect citizens," the commission spokesperson argued.