TSA announces security enhancements pending Egypt plane crash investigation

WASHINGTON (WABC) -- The tragedy with the plane crash in Egypt is sending shock waves across the world, even hitting airports at home in the United States.

And with one of the busiest travel periods of the year just three weeks away, there is word of a major change that may be coming: enhanced security for planes coming to the US from some terror hotspots around the world.

Transportation Security Administrator Peter Neffenger and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced Friday that they have identified a series of interim, precautionary enhancements to aviation security with respect to commercial flights bound for the United States from certain foreign airports in the region.

The sharpened focus on overseas security comes after US and British intelligence say they discovered an astounding lack of security at the airport in Sharm al-Sheikh, as well as fears that if it was a bomb, that ISIS had an insider there with access to the luggage hold and may have infiltrated other airports as well.

With airlines estimating that more than 25 million Americans will fly over Thanksgiving -- nearly a million more than last year -- it is possible those flyers will see new security measures in place.

"The Obama administration is reviewing a number of different steps that we can take to enhance security for commercial flights bound for the United States from certain foreign airports," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday. "When we develop those additional measures, we work closely with (the airline) industry and our international partners to make sure they are properly and effectively implemented."

Jeh said the enhancements include expanded screening applied to items on aircraft, airport assessments in conjunction with our international partners and offers of other assistance to certain foreign airports related to aviation and airport security, as well as additional measures, both seen and unseen. The security enhancements are intended only for certain foreign airports in the region.

Security in the Middle East is often different than what Americans see domestically. In the U.S., carry on bags are screened through an explosive detection scanner. Each day nationally, more than 1 million bags are checked.

"You cannot stop everything," USC Aviation Safety and Security director Tom Anthony said. "That's why we need a system of aviation security that is dynamic."

Gaps in TSA security were exposed this summer, with inspectors hiding materials on their body missed 95 percent of the time. The author of the report says progress has been made since then. But the other concern is the potential insider, with a recent case in Atlanta in which an airport worker allegedly used his ID to get around security and help

smuggle guns.

The cause of Saturday's crash in the Egyptian desert remains undetermined and the black boxes are still being analyzed.