Security measures take on more permanent footing

(CNS): Increased security measures, pat downs, restrictions to carry-on and limited movement on board aircraft will continue into the New Year aviation officials have stated. The measure which were imposed by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), in the US following the failed attempt to blow up a Northwest Airlines plane on Christmas Day. But despite the increase in security across the US and around the world, on Sunday night a man caused further concern at Newark airport when he was able to entirely bypass security at one of the world’s busiest airports.

Officials from the Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA)have also confirmed that the security measures imposed at Owen Roberts International for flights to the United States will continue until further notice. Passengers are being asked to attend the airport some three hours before departure in order to get through the new screening before boarding.

“Airlines at the Owen Roberts International Airport have implemented increased security checks which will require that passengers, on flights to the USA, be hand searched at the boarding gates prior to boarding,” the CIAA said in a statement. “In order to accommodate these additional measures and to avoid delays, passengers are encouraged to arrive at the airport and commence their check-in processes earlier than usual. A minimum of three hours before flight departure time is recommended.”  
  
CIAA explained that the additional security measure will not apply to passengers on flights bound for the Sister Islands, Kingston, Montego Bay, Cuba, the UK and Honduras. “The additional security measure that has been implemented is in respect to the security check to be conducted by individual USA bound carriers and will impact passengers as they prepare to leave the departure hall for boarding” CIAA stated.  

Once passengers have been checked in they will be encouraged to proceed to the security check point immediately after check-in to allow for the extra time that will be required for boarding. It is now not known when this TSA directive will be lifted.

The botched attempt by a 23 year old Nigerian student to ignite explosives on a Northwest Airlines plane carrying 290 people to Detroit from Amsterdam has reportedly caused travel chaos around the world. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who was overpowered by a passenger, has been charged with attempting to blow up an aircraft and a second Nigerian man was arrested for “suspicious activity”.

Airlines are undertaking individual body searches and passengers are being restricted to just one item of hand luggage and are being limited in their ability to move about a plane. US authorities said passengers should not be allowed to stand up or even go to the toilet an hour before landing. The crackdown could also signal the widespread use of in-flight air marshals on transatlantic routes to counter the terrorist threat.

The "enhanced" security measures, which are being described as the toughest ever, will be particularly acute for passengers traveling from nations deemed by the US as "state sponsors of terrorism" or "other countries of interest", the Transportation Security Administration said in its latest release. Those other countries include some that Washington considers its allies against Islamist extremism, such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, according to media reports. It also includes the four nations the US has formally designated sponsors of terrorism, including Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria.