In light of the Dec. 25 incident on a U.S.-bound flight, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration is mandating that every individual flying into the United States from anywhere in the world traveling from or through nations that are state sponsors of terrorism or other countries of interest will be required to go through enhanced screening effective Jan. 4. The directive also increases the use of enhanced screening technologies and mandates threat-based and random screening for passengers on U.S. bound international flights.

In addition, the Canadian government has banned all carry-on bags for passengers traveling to the U.S. because new screening requirements are causing excessive delays. Only exceptions are purses, cameras, coats, laptops, musical instruments, medical devices and items for baby care.

Regarding domestic U.S. flights, the TSA Web site states, ‘(U.S. airports) have the ability to quickly implement additional screening measures, including explosive-detection canine teams, law enforcement officers, gate screening, behavior detection and other measures both seen and unseen. Passengers should not expect to see the same thing at every airport.’ At this time, security checkpoint requirements for passengers departing U.S. airports remain the same and do not need to do anything differently. Additional security measures may be noticed at the airport.

Click here for further information from TSA about airline security regulations.