New FAA Policy on Threats orders Extra Security, Fines for Disclosure

The government announced a stricter policy Friday to deal with threats against aviation, including a system that requires airlines to take countermeasures and imposes fines for disclosing security alerts.

A Federal Aviation Administration order, which will take effect Monday, replaces the system of issuing security bulletins, which was criticized after the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland that killed 270 people in December. Notices of threats against U.S. airlines on the flight’s route were posted in at least one foreign embassy but were not distributed to the public.

Airlines were not required to take any specific actions in response to security bulletins.

Under the new order, individuals or airlines that disclose information from government security alerts without FAA authorization will be fined--up to $1,000 for individuals and $10,000 for airlines.

FAA spokesman John Leyden said the system for alerting airlines will now include two types of advisories--information circulars and security directives.

The information circulars will deal with general threats of hijackings, bombings or other terrorist actions, Leyden said.

The security directives, however, would require countermeasures by an airline, such as additional baggage inspections, Leyden said. These would be in response to specific threats against an airline, an airport or an individual flight and might include such information as the threatened time and method of attack, he said.

Since 1986, the FAA has issued 93 security bulletins, about one-third of them warning of specific threats.