Experienced travelers are always on the prowl for cheap airplane tickets and/or cheap vacation packages. However, everyone agrees that airline security should take be given top priority when managing flights. To that end, the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) has announced that it is revamping its no-fly list update policies.
The goal is to prevent a repeat of what happened Monday when the suspect in the New York Times Square bombing attempt was permitted to board a plane at Kennedy Airport for Dubai even though his name was on the no-fly list.
Going forward, TSA (Transportation Security Administration) will require airlines to check the no-fly list within two hours of being electronically notified of additions or changes. In the past airlines were given 24 hours to recheck the list.
It was because of the previous 24 hour window that Faisal Shahzad, the person charged with the attempted bombing in Times Square, was permitted to board an Emirates flight even through his name had been placed on a no-fly list earlier that same day.
The suspect made his airline reservation by phone as he drove to the airport just hours before to his flight. At the time Shahzad paid for his ticket in cash at the ticket counter at the airport, the airline had not refreshed its information regarding the no-fly list so his name was not flagged.
While his plane was still at the gate, CBP (Customers and Border Protection) analysts found his name on a passenger manifest and notified CBP agents to board the plane to take Shahzad into custody.
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