The United States plans to scrap its recent list of 14 countries whose residents get extra airport security screening amid complaints the new system is unfair, media reports said early Friday.
US President Barack Obama has signed off on new and broader guidelines to be announced later Friday, The Washington Post and New York Times reported.
After the failed bombing attempt by a Nigerian man of a US airliner bound for Detroit on Christmas Day, the US issued a list of 14 nations, most of them Muslim, from which all travellers received extra screenings for possible terrorist links. The list drew criticism for alleged racial profiling, DPA reported.
The new security guidelines are to be based on current threat situations and are more "surgically" targeted against suspect individuals who meet ever-changing criteria of travel patterns, age and personal traits, an official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told a group of White House reporters.
The Christmas Day "underwear bomber," who had stashed explosives in his underclothes, eluded security filters even though his visa application had irregularities, his name appeared on a US warning list and his father had warned US officials of his suspicions about his son's potential militant activities months in advance.
US to change security rules for foreign travellers - again
The United States plans to scrap its recent list of 14 countries whose residents get extra airport security screening amid complaints the new system is unfair, media reports said early Friday.
