US government warns airlines of new shoe-bomb threat
Airlines have been warned of explosives potentially smuggled onboard in shoes
The US government has advised airlines to beware of any attempts to smuggle explosives onboard in footwear.
Homeland security officials did not indicate any known specific threat or plots, but said the warning focused on US-bound flights from abroad.
It is the second time in recent weeks that the US has warned of an increased threat of explosives on airliners.
US airline security alerts
- 2012 - US says it foiled an al-Qaeda plot to attack a US-bound plane using an updated "underwear bomb"
- 2009 - Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab attempts to detonate makeshift bomb smuggled in his underwear on board a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit on Christmas Day
- 2006 - Three Britons arrested as they plotted to blow up transatlantic planes with bombs disguised as drinks
- 2001 - Briton Richard Reid attempts to blow up American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami with explosives hidden in his shoes
In 2001, Briton Richard Reid attempted to blow up a flight from Paris to Miami with explosives hidden in his shoes.
"Our security apparatus includes a number of measures, both seen and unseen, informed by the latest intelligence and as always DHS continues to adjust security measures to fit an ever evolving threat environment," the Department of Homeland Security said in Wednesday's statement, reports the Associated Press.
The latest advisory comes just weeks after the US told airlines to be on the lookout for explosives hidden in toothpaste tubes on direct flights to Russia.
That warning, on 6 February, came ahead of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.
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