TSA tightens cellphone checks on US-bound passengers at foreign airports

The Transportation Security Administration announced Sunday that it will soon start requiring passengers at some overseas airports that offer U.S.-bound flights to turn on devices such as cellphones before boarding. Devices that don’t power up won’t be allowed on planes, and their owners may have to undergo additional screening.

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson recently ordered the TSA to put extra security measures in place at some international airports with direct flights to the United States. U.S. intelligence officials have been concerned about new Al-Qaeda efforts to produce a bomb that could go undetected through airport security.

“The Department of Homeland Security continually assesses the global threat environment and re-evaluates the measures we take to promote aviation security,” Johnson said in a news release. “As part of this ongoing process, I have directed TSA to implement enhanced security measures in the coming days at certain overseas airports with direct flights to the United States.”

The TSA will not disclose which airports will be conducting the additional screening.

Al Jazeera and The Associated Press