UK follows US in increasing airport security

British authorities plan to tighten security at airports across the UK following a similar move by the US based on fears that foreign-backed terrorists in Syria and Yemen may have developed explosives that may be smuggled onto planes.

The UK’s Department for Transport (DfT) announced on Wednesday night that it would “step up some of our aviation security measures” following the warning from US security chiefs, the Guardian reported.

US authorities had announced earlier that they plan to increase security for their aviation traffic at European airports following intelligence that al-Qaeda-linked operatives in Syria and Yemen have collaborated to develop bombs that would avoid detection at airports in a bid to bring down airplanes. However, the American officials did not elaborate on which airports or countries would be affected.

Meanwhile, the DfT confirmed that aviation in Britain would be affected but declined to elaborate on what extra measures would be in place. It is believed that they would include more random screening of passengers and tighter scrutiny of footwear, mobile phones and computers.

Moreover, a DfT spokesman further stated that the changes would not cause significant disruption to passengers and the threat level remained “substantial,” which means an attack was a strong possibility. “We have taken the decision to step up some of our aviation security measures. For obvious reasons we will not be commenting in detail on those changes,” he said.

This is while the US department of homeland security said “enhanced security measures” would be implemented in the next few days at “certain overseas airports with direct flights into the United States.”