Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly announced a new security directive on Wednesday. Officials said it will apply to 80 airports in 105 nations, affecting about 2,000 daily flights with more than 300,000 passengers.
"We are not releasing details of the specific instructions we provided to airlines. It applies to airlines with direct flights to the US. Each of the airlines notified will have a period of time to implement the changes… We're not releasing the timeline for security reasons," an official at the Department said.
A US news agency reported earlier, citing an unnamed Homeland Security source, airlines that fail to comply with the security regulations could face fines or end up losing their licenses to operate US-bound flights. German and Russian flag-carriers, Lufthansa and Aeroflot, said they had been informed about the changes.
