Additional searches for US travel after terrorist attempt

Additional searches for carry-on baggage, more detailed body searches and tighter security measures all over the world for US bound travellers are being put in place after the arrest of an African man on a flight to Detroit who was allegedly attempting to blow up the plane.

Passengers can expect extra pat-downs and frisking and limited movement around the aircraft, particularly when coming into land or near a new city. The moves came as a result of a request by the US which experienced the airborne drama of an attempted terror attack on Christmas Day. It was then that 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was arrested and then charged with trying to ignite a home-made bomb as his plane, from Amsterdam originally, attempted to land in Detroit. He was prevented from igniting the device by crew and fellow passengers who fought with him and disarmed him before the plane safely touched down.

Although the new changes are totally a US-driven requirement the rest of the world has been quick to ramp up its security measures. Governments across the globe and travel industry groups have been advising all passengers to arrive even earlier than before and to plan for the possibility of missed connections, cancellations and delays.

In Canada and the UK, luggage has been restricted to one item for carry-on while additional screening is taking place along with restricted movement. Travellers from Amsterdam are all being patted-down and searched while in Brussels airlines have advised a minimum of three hours to get through security measures, with a separate security check being enacted at the boarding gate.

Meanwhile, Barrack Obama has demanded a review of the visa issuing process after it emerged that the attempted attacker was on a terrorist blacklist.