All incoming flights to the United States will be subject to new security screening procedures before takeoff, including both American citizens and foreign travellers possibly facing security interviews from airline employees, starting 26 October.

“The security measures affect all individuals, international passengers and US citizens, travelling to the United States from a last point of departure international location,” said Lisa Farbstein, a spokeswoman for the US Transportation Security Administration. “These new measures will impact all flights from airports that serve as last points of departure locations to the United States.”

Airlines said the new measures could include short security interviews with passengers at check-in or the boarding gate, sparking concerns over flight delays and extended processing time.

New rules will affect 325,000 airline passengers on about 2,000 commercial flights arriving daily in the United States, on 180 airlines from 280 airports in 105 countries.

Source: Independent, Reuters