The United States is implementing tough new "enhanced screening" techniques that target airline passengers from 14 countries, but reports say airports in some of those nations have yet to improve their own security.
Visitors flying into the U.S. from Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria, are now subject to the new security measures, including body scans, pat-downs and a thorough search of carry-on luggage. Each of these countries is listed by the U.S. State Department as state sponsors of terrorism.
The same techniques will be used to assess visitors from "countries of interest," namely Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen, as well.
However, sources say airports in those countries have been slow to implement the new security laws.
"Everything is the same. There is no extra security," an aviation official in Lebanon told the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
Other international airports in Syria and Libya had no visible changes to their security.
However, in Nigeria, passengers were greeted with security lineups that were seven hours long.
According to a weekend release from the U.S Transportation Security Administration, the new directive "also increases the use of enhanced screening technologies and mandates threat-based and random screening for passengers on U.S. bound international flights."
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration said the new rules apply to all U.S. and international air carriers that operate inbound flights to the United States.
The changes are "long-term, sustainable security measures" that were developed through consultation with domestic and international partners, the TSA said in a release posted to its website Sunday.
CNN reporter Nicole Collins told CTV News Channel that the TSA appeared to be holding back some details about its new directives for security reasons.
The new rules came into effect Monday and caused confusion for airlines and airports around the world -- particularly in Europe, which sees thousands of passengers head for the U.S. by air every day.
In Britain, a Department of Transportation spokesperson said he was still trying to decipher the practical implications of the new U.S. rules.
In Switzerland, Swiss International Air Lines spokesperson Jean-Claude Donzel said authorities were also studying the new security measures. He said that the old controls were still in place.
In Spain, U.S.-bound passengers from countries on the new U.S. watch list were not being singled out for body frisks, an unnamed security official told The Associated Press.
Monday's security changes came only 10 days after a Nigerian man allegedly tried to set off an explosive device aboard a Northwest airliner on Christmas Day.
The U.S. is not the only country that has announced security upgrades in recent days.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said full-body scanners will be introduced in British airports, and Amsterdam airport officials intend to use the same scanners on passengers bound for the U.S.
In Jordan, passengers have been subject to "enhanced techniques," especially when being screened for travel to the United States, said an official at Queen Alia International Airport.
In South Korea, U.S.-bound passengers must undergo additional security before boarding their flights, said Incheon International Airport official Lee Ji-hye. Security officials are also compiling lists of "suspicious" passengers to monitor, based on their nationalities, travel patterns and ticket purchases.
Airlines are also making changes to their security rules.
Sultan Hasan, a spokesperson for Pakistan International Airline, said U.S.-bound passengers will now be subjected to special screening -- including full-body searches -- in a designated area of the airport departure lounge.
"We are already carrying out all possible security arrangements at our airports which can be compared with any Western airport," Pervez George, spokesman for Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority. "Safety of the airliners and passengers as well as security at the airports is a top priority and we are maintaining it irrespective where the flight is going."
With files from The Associated Press
