Despite baggage chaos and a passenger mutiny over the weekend, Moscow airports remained largely unaffected by a global security blitz following a botched bombing on a U.S.-bound plane Friday.
Sheremetyevo Airport’s web site reported some lengthy delays for flights to the United States on Sunday, while most of the capital’s other international flight connections seemed to be operating as usual.
Major airlines said passengers heading to the United States should allow extra time for airport security checks because of new security measures issued by U.S. authorities.
The measures include extra checks and a one item-only hand luggage policy, British Airways and Air Canada reported on their web sites.
Most European airports introduced stringent checks on hand luggage, some forcing passengers to put items used during the flight into special plastic bags, news reports said.
There was some confusion Sunday about whether travelers would be forced to remain seated one hour prior to landing in the United States.
Aeroflot spokeswoman Irina Dannenberg said she knew nothing of a stay-seated rule. “This is the first time I hear that,” she told The Moscow Times.
Air Canada removed a statement about limits on onboard activities from its web site Sunday, although it could still be found with the site’s search tool.
But Delta Air Lines, which offers daily flights from Sheremetyevo to New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, confirmed that this was a new in-flight requirement by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, or TSA.
“Flight arrival preparations [begin] approximately one hour prior to arrival. At that time all passengers must remain seated for the remainder of the flight. All carry-on luggage, personal electronics, blankets, pillows and personal belongings must be stowed in the overhead or under the seat in front,” the airline said in an e-mailed statement.
“Delta is fully compliant with all TSA directives,” airline spokeswoman Katie Hulme said by e-mail.
Delta owned the Airbus 330, operated by Northwest Airlines, that a 23-year-old Nigerian man attempted to blow up en route from Amsterdam to Detroit on Friday.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to ignite an explosive device attached to his body as the plane with almost 300 people on board was approaching Detroit. He was overpowered by passengers.
Abdulmutallab spent about 20 minutes in the lavatory before trying to set off the device, which a preliminary U.S. analysis said contained the highly powerful PETN, news report said.
Abdulmutallab had apparently brought the device undetected through airport checks in both the Netherlands and Nigeria.
Andrei Soldatov, a security analyst and editor of the Agentura.ru web site, said if Abdulmutallab had flown from Moscow, he would have likely failed to bring his explosives on board because, unlike many U.S. and
European airports, all of the city’s airports use full-body X-ray scanners.
“Of course it depends how well the technology is used, but chances are high that smuggled explosives will be detected,” he said.
Moscow’s three international airports have X-ray scanners, requiring passengers to raise their arms and avoiding the old-fashioned pat-downs. The scanners were introduced after the bombings of two airplanes that departed from Domodedovo Airport on domestic flights in August 2004, killing 89 people.
United Airlines, which flies between Domodedovo and Washington Dulles Airport, is advising Moscow passengers to arrive for check-in earlier than the customary two to three hours before a flight.
“We are advising that customers allow for extra time at check-in and boarding,” United representative Robin Urbanski said in an e-mailed statement.
Urbanski directed all security-related questions to the TSA.
Aeroflot planes bound for the United States were delayed over the weekend. According to Sheremetyevo’s web site, Svo.aero/timetable, the airline’s New York flight SU315 on Saturday took off at 5:30 p.m., more than three hours later than the scheduled departure time of 2:20 p.m. On Sunday, the flight had not been marked as leaving by 8 p.m.
Asked about the delays, Dannenberg said, “Everything is working as normal, I hope.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said security measures at international airports could differ. “These measures are designed to be unpredictable, so passengers should not expect to see the same thing everywhere,” it said in a statement on its web site.
Passengers on Europe-bound flights from Moscow reported no extra security measures Sunday, and Russian authorities made no public statements on aviation safety over the weekend.
A Domodedovo spokeswoman said she would only consider questions submitted by e-mail and that she would not read her e-mail until Monday.
Repeated calls to Sheremetyevo’s press service went unanswered Sunday.
Sheremetyevo-2, meanwhile, descended into chaos Saturday because of a glitch with the baggage control system. Passengers waited hours for their baggage on arrival, and outgoing flights were also delayed, RIA-Novosti reported.
An unidentified airport spokesman told Ekho Moskvy radio that the reason was a technical fault in the baggage handling system and that the problem was solved by Saturday evening.
In addition, Aeroflot faced a mutiny from passengers whose flight was delayed for more than 12 hours.
Travelers booked on a charter plane to Goa, India, were first told that their plane would leave at 11 p.m. Saturday, instead of 7:35 p.m. as promised. Yet when they were told that the departure time had been postponed to Sunday morning, angry passengers staged a spontaneous protest, demanding hotel vouchers and an explanation from airline officials, RIA-Novosti reported, citing one of its reporters who was among the passengers. The passengers were put up in a hotel, and the plane captain told them the next morning that the flight had been delayed because of a lack of slots at the Goa airport, the report said.