US-Bound Flights Will Have Stricter Passenger Screening Requirements as of Thursday
If you're traveling on a flight to the US as of Thursday, be prepared for potential new security measures. According to Reuters, US-bound flights will have to comply with the government-imposed security measures, which could end up delaying the process for passengers. If you're traveling back to the US on or after Thursday, expect a broad range of new measures, including short interviews.
According to Airlines for America, the new policies will affect 325,000 airline passengers on about 2,000 commercial flights arriving daily in the US. Those figures include flights on 180 airlines from 280 airports in 105 countries. That's a whole lot of people on a significant number of flights, so be aware that you may experience more delays than usual.
Lufthansa said that travelers could expect to encounter short interviews at check-in or at the gate, and passengers on Lufthansa's Swiss should check-in at least 90 minutes before departure. In addition, Cathay Pacific said that it's suspending in-town check-in and self bag-drop for passengers on direct flights to the US. The carrier advised passengers on flights to the US to arrive three hours before departure and to expect short security interviews.
The Department of Homeland Security announced that it was ending the infamous electronics ban in June. In order for any of the 10 airports in the Middle East and Africa to drop the electronics ban for their passengers, they were required to implement new security measures. Those restrictions were lifted in July, but the Trump administration said that it could implement new security measures on a case-by-case basis.
In July, the Transportation Security Administration said it was imposing new security measures for domestic flights, which would begin being rolled out to airports across the country. Security measures here at home include passengers having to remove larger electronics than cellphones from their bag to go through the X-ray screening alone.
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