A week ago, a terrorist plot to blow up a plane was thwarted at Sydney Airport`s Attihad Airways check-in. (photo by Australian News Network)
Passengers at Australia`s major airports will face tough new rules after police thwarted a terrorist plot at Sydney`s airport, according to Australian News Network and the Australian newspaper`s end-of-week edition. The new security measures will tighten restrictions on carrying liquids on board, strengthen photo ID identification, and possibly introduce biometrics and full-body scans.
According to the new airport regulations, any passengers who do not have a boarding pass may not be able to pass domestic security checks. The new rules will be similar to domestic airport security rules, but the Australian side will tighten restrictions on carrying liquids, aerosols and gels.
In 2006, after British police uncovered a couple`s plot to bomb planes with liquid explosives in milk bottles, British airports introduced a new policy requiring more than 20 milliliters of liquid and gel to be kept in transparent plastic bags. In Australia`s domestic terminal, metal detectors do not recognize the liquids carried by passengers, but can be identified by full-body scanners.
At present, American airports stipulate that no passenger without a boarding pass can enter a domestic terminal through security checks.
Australia will step up mandatory passenger safety checks, and the federal goverment will consider implementing iris and fingerprint biometric tests.
Goverment`s renewed security enhancements are linked to a recent plot to blow up Sydney`s Atihad Airlines flight (Etihad Airlines) to (Abu Dhabi) Abu Dhabi. At first, the police did not detect anything wrong, but when the opponent checked luggage, the police found that there were military bombs inside, and the plot to blow up the plane also failed.
A week ago, four men were questioned by police, suspected to be involved in the plot. The police have charged two of the men.
It is understood that senior officials such as Duddon (Peter Dutton), Attorney General Keenan (Michael Keenan), and Transport Minister Chester (Darren Chester) are discussing the proposed security measures. While goverment expects major airlines to resist these potentially cost-added security measures, they are likely to be handed over to the federal cabinet in a matter of weeks.
