Airport Security To Be Tightened For Inbound Flights To The United States
Airport security is to be tightened for inbound flights to the United States, reports MSN News. This means that the screening of mobile phones and shoes is back, or at least for those individuals wanting to enter the States from a foreign airport. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the use of these “enhanced security measures” this past Wednesday amid growing fears of yet another terrorist attack.
According to intelligence reports, al Qaeda operatives from the Al-Nusra Front affiliate in Syria teamed up with al Qaeda operatives from Yemen for the purpose of developing bombs capable of bypassing traditional airport security measures. U.S. officials suspect that they may have figured out how to transform everyday mobile phones into explosive devices. The Telegraph notes that the authorities also fear that al Qaeda bomb makers have updated the schematics of the notorious shoe bomb.
This “revolution” of sorts in terrorist technology can all be traced back to Ibrahhim Hassan Al-Asiri, a Saudi Arabian citizen believed by many to be the chief bomb maker for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). According to Heavy, his bombs were used in “the 2009 Christmas Day bomb plot, the 2010 cargo plane bomb plot and the 2012 Terror Plot.” And according to ABC News, he masterminded the creation of what one TSA agent described as an “ingenious” bomb-making tactic capable of transforming mundane clothing into explosives.
Because of these new clear-cut threats, travelers hoping to fly into the United States from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East must now contend with the possibility of lengthy delays and tightened airport security checks, though some officials claim that the delays will be minimal at best. Keep in mind that the authorities are especially suspicious of Apple and Samsung smartphones such as the Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy.
Discussions pertaining to these tightened airport security measures are still occurring between U.S. officials and both international governments-airports and the various airlines that offer inbound flights to the United States. All we know for certain is that airline and airport operators who fail to abide by this demand for enhanced security could wind up having their flights banned from entering U.S. airspace.
The one piece of good news is that intelligence officials are not aware of any immediate threat. So if you plan to fly into the States, avoid freaking out. Instead, just make sure you get to the airport early enough to deal with the tightening airport security screenings.
[Image via [Google Images]
