TSA Orders Stepped Up Security on Flights to U.S. to Continue Through Weekend
Lynn Sweet
Correspondent
Posted:
12/31/09
Updated
In the wake of the foiled Christmas Day terrorist attack on Northwest Flight 253, the Transportation Security Administration is extending through the weekend stepped up security procedures for passengers flying to the U.S., Politics Daily has learned.
The TSA issued an order on Christmas calling for more screening of all passengers at the boarding gate -- not just at the security checkpoint -- as well as in-flight restrictions on movements.
The additional measures were immediately put in place after passengers and crew thwarted suspected terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab from igniting explosives hidden in the front of his underwear as the aircraft approached the airport in Detroit. The flight originated in Amsterdam. The order, called a directive, was originally to have expired on Wednesday.
"Out of an abundance of caution, the Transportation Security Administration is extending the current security measures through the busy holiday weekend. TSA will review and update these measures to keep the traveling public safe," Sterling Payne, the TSA deputy assistant administrator for public affairs, told Politics Daily on Thursday.
The order comes as President Obama on Thursday received reports from federal authorities on how Abdulmutallab, 23, a Nigerian, was allowed on Flight 253 given that he was on a terrorist watchlist and still held a valid U.S. visa. His father warned the U.S. embassy in Nigeria of his extremist views, and Abdulmutallab bought a ticket with cash and was traveling to Detroit in the winter without luggage. A senior administration official in Hawaii, where Obama is vacationing, said the president will be receiving reports through New Year's Eve from officials responsible for air safety.
Obama said he discussed the situation in separate calls with John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
Authorities have some concern about copycat attacks. Abdulmutallab ignited explosive powder with a syringe as he was sitting in his seat with a blanket on his lap.
As for bolstered security, steps include pat-downs at the gate, with an emphasis on legs and torso, carry-on baggage searches for syringes, and strict enforcement on limits already in place covering liquids, aerosols and gels.
During the flight, passengers are being asked to remain seated an hour before landing, with no pillows, blankets or anything on laps. During that last hour, there is to be no access to stowed luggage or to global positioning devices passengers can watch to see how the flight progresses. While over U.S. airspace, the flight crew is not supposed to make announcements about what landmarks or city the plane is flying over.
Meanwhile, at U.S. airports, an assortment of efforts have been put in place since Christmas to increase security: more body imaging machine scans; bomb sniffing dogs; more roving security teams, more tests of carry-on liquids, powders and gels, more pat downs and more authorities in plainsclothes looking for behavioral clues.
In the wake of the foiled Christmas Day terrorist attack on Northwest Flight 253, the Transportation Security Administration is extending through the weekend stepped up security procedures for passengers flying to the U.S., Politics Daily has learned.
The TSA issued an order on Christmas calling for more screening of all passengers at the boarding gate -- not just at the security checkpoint -- as well as in-flight restrictions on movements.
The additional measures were immediately put in place after passengers and crew thwarted suspected terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab from igniting explosives hidden in the front of his underwear as the aircraft approached the airport in Detroit. The flight originated in Amsterdam. The order, called a directive, was originally to have expired on Wednesday.
"Out of an abundance of caution, the Transportation Security Administration is extending the current security measures through the busy holiday weekend. TSA will review and update these measures to keep the traveling public safe," Sterling Payne, the TSA deputy assistant administrator for public affairs, told Politics Daily on Thursday.
The order comes as President Obama on Thursday received reports from federal authorities on how Abdulmutallab, 23, a Nigerian, was allowed on Flight 253 given that he was on a terrorist watchlist and still held a valid U.S. visa. His father warned the U.S. embassy in Nigeria of his extremist views, and Abdulmutallab bought a ticket with cash and was traveling to Detroit in the winter without luggage. A senior administration official in Hawaii, where Obama is vacationing, said the president will be receiving reports through New Year's Eve from officials responsible for air safety.
Obama said he discussed the situation in separate calls with John Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano.
Authorities have some concern about copycat attacks. Abdulmutallab ignited explosive powder with a syringe as he was sitting in his seat with a blanket on his lap.
As for bolstered security, steps include pat-downs at the gate, with an emphasis on legs and torso, carry-on baggage searches for syringes, and strict enforcement on limits already in place covering liquids, aerosols and gels.
During the flight, passengers are being asked to remain seated an hour before landing, with no pillows, blankets or anything on laps. During that last hour, there is to be no access to stowed luggage or to global positioning devices passengers can watch to see how the flight progresses. While over U.S. airspace, the flight crew is not supposed to make announcements about what landmarks or city the plane is flying over.
Meanwhile, at U.S. airports, an assortment of efforts have been put in place since Christmas to increase security: more body imaging machine scans; bomb sniffing dogs; more roving security teams, more tests of carry-on liquids, powders and gels, more pat downs and more authorities in plainsclothes looking for behavioral clues.
In another development, Napolitano is launching a global drive to upgrade airport security, with an announcement on Thursday that she is dispatching top officials from her department to major airports around the world to review security procedures and technology being used to screen passengers on flights bound for the United States.
"As part of the ongoing review to determine exactly what went wrong leading up to Friday's attempted terrorist attack, we are looking not only at our own processes, but also beyond our borders to ensure effective aviation security measures are in place for U.S-bound flights that originate at international airports," said Napolitano in a statement.