By Allan Lengel
For AOL NEWSWASHINGTON — From an evil deed comes some good.
By slipping onto a Dubai-bound plane at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday night despite landing on the “no-fly” list, suspected would-be Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad highlighted a major gap in airline security — one that federal officials vowed today to close.
The Transportation Security Administration announced it will require airlines to check no-fly lists within two hours of being electronically notified of an urgent or “special circumstance expedited no-fly name,” as was the case Monday. The previous policy called for airlines to check the list within 24 hours of getting such a notice.
“As we saw with Faisal Shahzad, in an expedited no-fly nomination the airline is responsible for manually checking the name against the no-fly list within 24 hours,” an administration official said.
“In his case, the airline seemingly didn’t check the name, and the suspect was allowed to purchase a ticket and obtain a boarding pass.”
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