SAFE TRAVELS

New Airport Crackdown

Yemenis, Pakistanis will be frisked.

In response to the attempted Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. airliner, the Transportation Security Administration drafted new rules, made effective Sunday at midnight. The Obama administration notified airlines that every passenger from countries on the State Sponsors of Terrorism list and “countries of interest,” including Nigeria, Pakistan, and Yemen, will be patted down and have their belongings searched, and all travelers entering the U.S. from a foreign country will be subject to tightened random screening. These rules were not enforced previously, and the TSA says a much higher percentage of travelers will receive screenings, including advanced explosives detection and advanced imaging technology where available. "This goes beyond simply looking at passports and now looks at itineraries from and through countries of interest,” a TSA spokesperson said. “This is a significant step forward."