Christmas Day Terror Scare Leads To New Guidelines

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Dec 28, 2009 3:20PM

A pair of incidents on board airplanes bound from Amsterdam to Detroit - one serious, the other not - over the weekend have caused a new round of terror fears and, as a result, a new set of guidelines for those boarding plans during one of the busiest travel times of the year. By now, everyone has heard of the Christmas Day incident when a Nigerian man on board Northwest Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit tried to set off an "incendiary device" only to be stopped by other passengers. Another incident yesterday proved to be a false alarm when a Nigerian man on the same flight - Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit - became ill and spent an hour in the plane's bathroom, causing the flight crew to issue an alert. Authorities say there was no threat and that the man was legitimately sick.

But the incidents still have officials on their toes and for those of you still traveling over the holiday period, there will be some new guidelines to abide by. While most of the new guidelines apply to international travelers bound for the United States, you can still expect longer waits even for domestic flights as TSA officials step-up the caution with security screenings. The Christmas Day incident resulted in a raising of the flight threat level to Orange.

The Tribune caught up with a Wisconsin family that was on board the Christmas Day flight and got their perspective of the event.