Laptop Ban Not Included In The New Measures

Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly has announced enhanced security screening measures for all commercial flights to the United States.

In his announcement, Secretary Kelly (pictured) said that the first attack on a commercial flight came in 1934, when a bomb took down a United Airlines flight from Chesterton, Indiana to Chicago. All on board were killed, and the case was never solved.

"Since that time we have continued to be confronted by threats to passenger aircraft. This isn’t a new issue. But the threat has evolved," Kelly said.

"Since 9/11, the United States has seen a series of attempted attacks on commercial aviation. A shoe bomber. Liquid explosives. An underwear bomber. And a plot to detonate explosive cargo. Most of these were disrupted just in time, but our enemies have not always failed. In 2015, for instance, ISIS claimed responsibility for the bombing of Metrojet Flight 9268, which killed all 224 people on board, and became the deadliest air disaster in Russia’s history.

"Terrorists want to bring down aircraft to instill fear, disrupt our economies, and undermine our way of life. And it works—which is why they still see aviation as a crown jewel target."

Kelly said that there is reason to believe that there is renewed interest on the part of terrorist groups to go after the aviation sector—from bombing aircraft to attacking airports on the ground, as they did in Brussels and Istanbul.

"However, we are not standing on the sidelines while fanatics hatch new plots. The U.S. government is focused on deterring, detecting, and disrupting these threats.

"That is why in March I made the decision to ban electronic devices larger than a cell phone from the passenger cabins of U.S.-bound commercial flights from ten airports in the Middle East and North Africa. I made that call based on evaluated intelligence and real concerns we had about terrorist plotting. Make no mistake: our enemies are constantly working to find new methods for disguising explosives, recruiting insiders, and hijacking aircraft.

"I’ve made a point to talk with everyone I can about securing aviation. I’ve met with our international partners. I’ve met with our industry leaders. I’ve met with other private sector stakeholders. My conclusion is this: it is time to raise the global baseline of aviation security."

The enhanced security measures include but are not limited to:

• Enhancing overall passenger screening;
• Conducting heightened screening of personal electronic devices;
• Increasing security protocols around aircraft and in passenger areas; and
• Deploying advanced technology, expanding canine screening, and establishing additional preclearance locations.

Over the course of the next several weeks and months, DHS/TSA will work with aviation stakeholders to ensure these enhanced security measures are fully implemented.  Those stakeholders who fail to adopt these requirements with certain timeframes run the risk of additional security restrictions being imposed.

These enhanced security measures will help to secure all commercial flights departing from 280 airports that serve as last points of departure to the United States, according to DHS.

(Image from DHS video)

FMI: Fact Sheet