TSA International Air Security Measures

TSA Institutes More-Focused Air Security Measures

Published on: April 5, 2010

The Transportation Security Administration will begin using new security measures this month for all air carriers with international flights to the United States, replacing the emergency measures put into place after the attempted Christmas 2009 terrorist attack. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said that the new protocols reflect the most current information available to the U.S. government and will apply to all passengers traveling to the United States.

The new TSA procedures will replace the requirement of extra security screening for all passengers traveling to the U.S. from or through 14 countries that have been home to known terrorists — Afghanistan, Algeria, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The new procedures will require additional screening only for those passengers who match a specific description of a known or suspected terrorist, including physical descriptions or travel patterns.

The new screening will be in addition to the screening of passengers whose names appear on terrorist watch lists. The U.S. government’s “no fly” list of suspected terrorists, who are banned from all flights to or within U.S. territory, currently includes about 6,000 names. The additional screening includes the use of explosives trace detection, advanced imaging technology, canine teams or full-body pat-downs, among other measures.

The country-specific procedures went into place after the attempted bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Dec. 25, 2009. A Nigerian man, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, has been charged with boarding the plane with a bomb hidden in his underwear. One of the reasons the alleged bomber was able to board the flight in Amsterdam was that his name was not on the U.S. terror watch list. However, officials failed to even share a description of the suspected terrorist.

The new policy should significantly decrease the number of innocent travelers from the 14 countries who have been inconvenienced or delayed by the extra screening due to their travel route or home country.

Although the U.S. does not have the authority to screen passengers in foreign airports, if air carriers do not agree to follow the U.S. guidelines for international aviation security, they could be fined and potentially banned from operating flights to the U.S.

Janet Napolitano commended many partners around the world “who have taken steps to increase their own security measures through deployment of new technology, enhanced information sharing and stronger standards to keep air travel safe.”

Napolitano also commended the release of the Surface Transportation Security Priority Assessment, calling it another important step in efforts to protect the nation’s traveling public from acts of terrorism. The assessment was developed through engagement with federal, state, local and tribal government partners as well as the private sector, provides a comprehensive framework of recommendations to enhance surface transportation security. For more information, visit www.dhs.gov.

Reproduced from an article from Travel Pulse Newsletter:  Capt Bob