US To Seek Airport Security Enhancements After Egypt Crash

The United States will boost security checks overseas for US-bound flights as a precaution following the recent Russian passenger jet crash in Egypt, including asking foreign airports to tighten screening of items before they are taken on board aircraft.

Jeh Johnson, the US Homeland Security Secretary, said in a statement that he and the head of the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), "out of an abundance of caution, have identified a series of interim, precautionary enhancements to aviation security with respect to commercial flights bound for the United States from certain foreign airports in the region."

Johnson's statement said security improvements would include "expanded screening" for items on aircraft, additional assessments of security at foreign airports in partnership with foreign authorities, and unspecified "offers of other assistance to certain foreign airports" related to aviation and airport security.

The statement said that the enhancements were intended "only for certain foreign airports in the region." It did not specify which airports would be involved. A US official familiar with the matter said that all the airports affected were in the Middle East.

The official said security enhancements by the US would be put in place by local airport authorities and operators in conjunction with US government representatives.

The official said that because the airport at Sharm El Sheikh, from which the Russian aircraft that crashed departed, is not served by any direct flights to the US, it would not be affected by the new US security moves.

While airlines of multiple European countries served Sharm el Sheikh before last weekend's flights, US officials said American-flag carriers had not flown directly in or out of that airport for some time.

"All of our members who had flown in or over that region have stopped doing so and are rerouting flights out of an abundance of caution," added Melanie Hinton, a spokesperson for Airlines for America, a trade association for US airlines.

US officials would not say whether the decisions by US airlines to avoid Sharm el Sheik were based on official guidance from any US government agency.

One US official said that within the last two years, TSA had assessed security at foreign airports, and that Sharm el Sheikh had a reputation inside the US government for poor security. Another official noted that TSA has never made such assessments public.