On the first day of what was supposed to be tighter screening ordered by the United States for airline passengers from certain countries, some airports around the world conceded they had not cracked down.
The U.S. demanded more careful screening for people who are citizens of, or are flying from, 14 nations deemed security risks.
But enforcement of the U.S. rules appeared spotty Monday.
“Everything is the same. There is no extra security,” said an aviation official in Lebanon, one of the countries on the list. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
The Obama administration ordered the changes after what authorities say was a failed attempt by a Nigerian man to blow up a jetliner bound from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day.
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, said the enhanced screening techniques would include full-body patdowns, searches of carry-on bags, full-body scanning and explosive-detection technology.
On Monday, passengers arriving on international flights reported they had been patted down individually or had their luggage inspected by hand — steps that have been in place on many international flights since the failed bombing.
Long lines in Nigeria
Passengers on a flight from Stockholm to Newark, N.J., were patted down and had their bags checked at the gate, flier Mark Biddle said. He said no passengers had been singled out for special attention.
In Nigeria, one of the nations on the U.S. list for additional security, there were long lines on the first day of the new rules. At the airport in Lagos, the capital, Mine Oniovosa, a 24-year-old student, said she had been told to show up more than seven hours ahead of time for a flight to Atlanta.
A Nigerian official pledged that everyone would be patted down at the country’s international airports. In Lagos, guards wearing latex gloves combed through bags, spending more than a minute on each one.
But at international airports in Lebanon, Syria and Libya, all on the list, there were no visible changes in screening. And several European governments, including Germany, France and Spain, said they were still studying the rules before tightening security any further than the steps they took after the failed Christmas attack.
“We will continue to work with our airline and international partners to ensure they meet both international and TSA security standards,” said Greg Soule, TSA spokesman.
Implementation of the tighter security measures that took effect Monday depends on where airlines are operating, said Steve Lott of the International Air Transport Association.
“It can happen in a matter of hours or it can happen in a day or two,” he said.
If the security measures are not followed, the TSA can penalize the airlines, according to a TSA official who was not authorized to speak about the enforcement rules. The penalties could include warnings and fines, and recalcitrant airlines ultimately could be barred from flying to the U.S.
Dozens added to watch lists
The U.S. government has added dozens of people to the lists of suspected terrorists and those barred from U.S.-bound flights, a crackdown that comes as President Barack Obama prepares to personally question and challenge his team about the state of national security.
At the White House today, Obama planned to meet with the high-ranking officials charged with the two reviews he ordered after the botched Christmas airliner attack over Detroit — one on air-travel screening procedures and another on the nation’s terror-watchlist system.
The addition of more names to the government’s terrorist watch and no-fly lists came after U.S. officials closely scrutinized a larger database of suspected terrorists, an intelligence official said Monday. People on the watch list get additional checking before they are allowed to enter this country; those on the no-fly list are barred from boarding aircraft in or headed for the United States.
