Aviation securityTighter security rules keep suspects from flying
Following the 2009 Christmas Day bombing attempt, security rules were tightened on U.S.-bound flights; these rules now prevent not only known terrorists from boarding such flights, but also those who received weapons training, recruited others, fought against American troops, or help finance terrorist organizations; since the end of 2009, more than 350 people were prevented from boarding U.S.-bound flights
Tighter U.S. security regulation on air travel have prevented more than 350 people suspected of ties to al Qaeda and other terrorist groups from boarding U.S.-bound commercial flights since the end of 2009, federal officials said.
The Boston Globe writes that the tighter security rules — imposed after the attempted bombing of an airliner on Christmas 2009 — reveal a security threat that persisted for more than seven years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Among the changes prompted by the would-be Christmas bomber are requirements that passengers on U.S.-bound flights be checked against a larger watch list – a list which contains not only known or suspected terrorists, but also the names of people suspected of helping finance terrorist activities and those who passed through militants’ training camps, even if they are not considered a direct threat to planes.
The Globe reports that hundreds of people linked to al Qaeda and other terrorist groups have been kept off airplanes under the new rules. They include what U.S. officials described as a member of a terrorist organization who received weapons training, recruited others, fought against American troops, and had a ticket to fly to the United States. One traveler prevented from boarding a U.S.-bound flight was a member of a organization about whom intelligence officials had information that he had purchased equipment for terrorism.
