How the tougher US air security checks will work

The new US security measures require automatic pat-downs and stricter searches of carry-on for US-bound travellers flying from 14 countries Washington regards as having terrorist links. The US transport security administration (TSA), which issued the new directive, declined publicly to name the countries. But the 14 include four the US state department lists as state sponsors of terrorism: Iran, Sudan, Syria and Cuba – though few security specialists in Washington regard the latter as a threat, and its inclusion is mainly on historic grounds. The others are countries regarded as 'countries of interest", or those alleged to be incubating terrorist groups: Nigeria, Yemen, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya and Somalia. The measures mean anyone boarding a US-bound flight from any of the above countries will face a full pat-down and have their carry-on bags searched more thoroughly. Passport-holders from these countries boarding US-bound flights at other destinations will also be subject to similar searches. Airlines that fail to carry out the searches would face being banned from flying into the US. The changes will mean that any citizen of Pakistan or Saudi Arabia will for the first time be patted down automatically before boarding any flight to the United States. Even if that person has lived in a country like Britain for decades, he now will be subject to these extra security checks. Full-body scanning machines are unavailable in most of the 14 countries on the list, but they will be introduced throughout the US and UK. They produce x-ray-like images that can reveal objects hidden beneath clothes. Forty are in use at 19 airports in the US. A further 150 are to be introduced this year, and funding is available for 300 more. Passengers may refuse to participate, in which case they would be subjected to a full pat-down. Passengers from countries other than the 14 identified as being of special concern could also face additional screening, according to the TSA. In the immediate aftermath of the Christmas Day plot, passengers on flights into the US were required to remain in their seats with all electronic devices switched off for the final hour before landing. It is to be left to captains' discretion whether or not to impose the ruling.