After Times Square bombing plot suspect Faisal Shahzad managed to pass through several layers of security at the New York airport to board a Dubai-bound flight, only to be stopped minutes before take off, the US has tightened its no-fly rules for airlines.
The new rules, enforced yesterday by the Transportation and Security Administration, came within two days of Shahzad's fleeing attempt.
The Pakistan-born US national boarded a Emirates flight, even though his name was added to the no-fly list of the United States on Monday.
Under the new regulation, airlines now have to check the government's no-fly list within two hours, which was earlier 24 hours, after they are notified that a name has been added.
"It's being done because a review of the situation finds that an airline is required every 24 hours to check the no-fly list. The suspect's name was entered a little after noon, I believe, on Monday, therefore, though on the no-fly list, the airline didn't have to check necessarily at that point," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said at his daily news briefing.
"The new rules require that to happen at a two-hour interval if airlines are notified that somebody's been added as a risk to the no-fly list," he said, adding the reason there were redundancies in the system to ensure that there are many mechanisms that would allow one to prevent somebody from flying, which is what happened in this case.
{{/usCountry}}"The new rules require that to happen at a two-hour interval if airlines are notified that somebody's been added as a risk to the no-fly list," he said, adding the reason there were redundancies in the system to ensure that there are many mechanisms that would allow one to prevent somebody from flying, which is what happened in this case.
{{/usCountry}}"The CBP (Custom and Border Patrol) takes a locked manifest, that's required to be filed 30 minutes before a flight, with people that are on the plane. That was checked against that list and the individual was removed from the plane," Gibbs said.