More Items banned for Air Travel (toothpaste?!)

London Terror Plot Sparks Heightened Security at U.S. Airports

Thursday , August 10, 2006

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NEW YORK — Air travelers faced long lines, tougher inspections and a ban on liquids in carry-on luggage Thursday as the nation's airports tightened security following the discovery of a terror plot targeting flights from Britain to the United States.

"Travelers should go about their plans confidently, while maintaining vigilance in their surroundings and exercising patience with screening and security officials," Russ Knocke, press secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, told FOX News.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday the plan is "suggestive of an Al Qaeda plot" and banned all liquids and gels on flights, including toothpaste, beverages, hair gels, makeup and suntan lotion. Baby formula and medicines were exempted.

The airlines targeted included United Airlines, American Airlines and Continental Airlines Inc., two counterterrorism officials said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

American canceled three London-bound morning flights from Chicago, Boston and New York to accommodate delays at London's Heathrow airport, spokesman John Hotard said. To balance the cancellations, the airline also dropped three afternoon or evening flights from London to U.S. cities, Hotard said.

The remaining 13 flights in each direction were expected to run from 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours late. The cancellations were due to scheduling delays and not because of possible threats to the flights, Hotard said.

"We're going to be flying out of Heathrow today," he said. "It's just that because it's so congested right now."

Most European carriers canceled flights to Heathrow because of the massive delays created by strict new regulations banning most hand baggage.

The U.S. government raised its threat warning to the highest level for commercial flights from Britain to the United States and raised slightly the alert for all flights coming or going from the U.S.

It is the first time the red alert level in the Homeland Security warning system has been invoked, although there have been brief periods in the past when the orange level was applied. Homeland Security defines the red alert as designating a "severe risk of terrorist attacks."

The government said it was banning liquids, explaining only that liquids emerged as a risk from the investigation in Britain.

Passengers complied at the Kennedy airport terminal housing British Airways, throwing those and other products into bins.

At Chicago airports, the terror alert level was raised to orange, requiring all bags to be screened. Chicago aviation commissioner Nuria Fernandez said the only exceptions to the ban on liquids would be breast milk and fruit juices for small and nursing children. She urged passengers to arrive early for flights and to consider not bringing carryon luggage.

Some passengers were surprised by the ban on flying with liquids at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Baby formula and medicine had to be presented for inspection.

The terror plot and flight cancellations have "not yet" caused any disruption at Los Angeles International Airport, airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles said early Thursday.

She declined to comment on whether airport officials have heightened security because of the raised threat alert, but said the airport typically followed any special directives from federal authorities.

Delta Air Lines spokesman Anthony Black said Thursday morning that operations would continue normally and there would be no flight cancellations. But Delta was expecting delays on flights coming from the United Kingdom because of heightened security there, Black said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.