Democratic Senator Schumer demands get-tough policy on air security

NEW YORK Democratic Senator Charles Schumer has suggested that US airlines should threaten to boycott airports which do not meet US standards, reports the Associated Press.

"What's crucial is that we immediately send many more TSA [Transportation Security Administration] agents to the airports to check compliance," he said.

The State Department and the National Counter Terrorism Centre should require an expedited review of all travel visas for anyone who has been added to any of the major terrorist databases.

Sen Schumer said the attempted terrorist attack aboard a Detroit-bound jetliner on Christmas Day "should be a wake-up call" to the federal government and the aviation industry.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian, has been charged with attempting to bomb a Northwest Airlines flight as it approached Detroit from Amsterdam.

US President Barack Obama has ordered a review of US aviation security and the events leading up to the attempt and information on the man himself and why it wasn't shared with the appropriate agencies.

Sen Schumer said he had written to the chief executives of major airlines asking them to report any known security issues at foreign airports. "You don't have to be Albert Einstein to realise that flights that originate in foreign countries pose a greater danger," he said.
 

Source: SchedNet