There's nothing like almost losing track of a terror suspect and the no-fly list almost not work at all to make the feds change things up. The Washington Post reports, "Until now, airlines have had 24 hours to check the list after they are notified that a name has been added to it through a special, expedited process that indicates a high level of potential risk. Starting Wednesday, they must check within two hours."
An unnamed official told Reuters, "As we saw with Faisal Shahzad, in an expedited no-fly nomination, the airline is responsible for manually checking the name against the no-fly list within 24 hours. In his case, the airline seemingly didn't check the name, and the suspect was allowed to purchase a ticket and obtain a boarding pass."
Emirates Airline and the U.S. government disagree on how Shahzad managed to get on the plane when he was added to the list around noon on Monday—"The company said that when the list was updated, Shahzad, who booked the flight at 6:30 [p.m.] while traveling to the airport, was not yet on the manifest. Emirates officials said they informed the government that a last-minute, one-way ticket had been reserved and paid for in cash, but got no response. Officials said they had no record of that message."
