US implements new screening policy for air travellers

Security experts, lawmakers and rights groups praised the US government’s decision to abandon the use of nationality as a basis for screening US-bound air travellers.

Announced last Friday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said that the Transportation Security Administration will pick passengers for extra security checks based on matches with intelligence, including travel patterns and physical descriptions. The new policy, to take effect this March, replaces the old procedure that singled out US-bound passengers travelling from 14 countries for secondary screening.

The previous policy required extra security check only for passengers from or travelling through Cuba, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Afghanistan, Algeria, Lebanon, Libya, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen. It was hurriedly imposed in US airports after the failed Christmas Day bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian national, who tried to ignite the explosives concealed in his underwear.

The recent move was welcomed as a major first step by groups that earlier criticised US security procedures, including the American Civil Liberties Union and American Muslim organisations. The groups are concerned that the previous policy would result in racial discrimination and travel delays. However, they noted that the US government have not yet provided the information on who would implement the new screening policy or how information about US-bound passengers would be used.

The US Customs and Border Protection currently use an automated risk assessment system based on factors such as a passenger’s travel history, age, country of origin, and other information collected from past investigations or intelligence reports.