Airlines to begin tougher security screening on US-bound flights
WASHINGTON _ All passengers traveling on international flights to the United States are to face tougher security screening beginning Thursday, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration said.
Airlines were rolling out measures that could include additional passenger screening, greater scrutiny of personal electronic devices and increased security around aircraft and in passenger areas.
"These new measures will impact all flights from airports that serve as last points of departure locations to the United States," TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said.
In June, the U.S. said it would require more stringent screening of passengers boarding commercial flights to the U.S. as part of a series of aviation security measures. The deadline for such measures to be implemented is Thursday.
The decision to implement the new measures followed a since-lifted ban on large electronic devices from some airports in the Middle East and North Africa.
The industry group, International Air Transport Association, said the measures would "raise the bar on aviation security."
The additional steps have required "a significant amount of work" by airlines and airports and the TSA had been willing to be flexible in working with industry to put them in place, spokesman Perry Flint said, but called for "a more risk-based approach" to implementing such measures in the future.
_dpa
