No-Fly List Monitoring to Increase
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. Maybe they should change it to the no-board the airplane list. It would seem as soon as a name is added to a ticket on any airline, the TSA would be notified immediately. The fact that the TSA is relying on the airlines to do this check rather than developing their own system which updates instantly, and prevents the suspect from passing thru security is difficult to understand. Then, as a back-up, beings the boarding process is the last possible time to stop someone, ask the airline to update thier list just prior to opening boarding.
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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