Airports tighten security after attempted attack on flight to Detroit
NEW YORK - Extra pat-downs before boarding. No getting up for the last hour of the flight. More bomb-sniffing dogs. Airports worldwide tightened security a day after a passenger tried to light an explosive on a flight into Detroit.
The Transportation Security Administration ordered new measures for flights departing from foreign airports to the United States, including mandatory screening of all passengers at airport gates during the boarding process. All carry-on items will be screened at security checkpoints and again at boarding.
Some passengers getting off flights from overseas yesterday were told that they could not get out of their seat for the last hour of their flight.
The TSA ordered the tighter security after a man flying from Nigeria to Amsterdam to Detroit tried to ignite a device just before a
Passengers on a United Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Washington were not allowed to have anything in their laps during the descent into Dulles, or to open the overhead bins an hour before landing, said Nehmi Klaassen, 32, who made the trip yesterday. Klaassen, who lives in Amsterdam, said lines at the airport were “10 times’’ longer than usual this time.
Jennifer Allen encountered tougher security on her way from Amsterdam to Detroit yesterday. Her Northwest Airlines flight was on the same route disrupted by the attempted attack a day earlier.
“They patted you down really well,’’ said Allen, 41, an automotive engineer from Shelby Township, Mich. “They went through everything in your bags, went through the pockets in your pants, the pockets of your coat.’’
“The extra measures apply worldwide on all flights to the US as of now and for an indefinite period,’’ said Judith Sluiter, spokeswoman for the Dutch National Coordinator for Counterterrorism.
Security procedures for other flights remained unchanged, she said.
At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the airport police dogs, which are trained to detect explosives, were out on Saturday. Airport spokesman Perry Cooper said the extra effort was at the request of the TSA.
