Failed Terrorist Attack Contributed to Airport Fuss in Canada

There were more lineups early Monday at Toronto's Pearson Airport in the wake of a failed Christmas Day terrorist attack on a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit

Photo: Failed Terrorist Attack Contributed to Airport Fuss in Canada

But an airport official said operations were running more smoothly as Air Canada began consolidating some flights to ease the crunch. "That's certainly part of the equation," said Trish Krale of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.

Lengthy lineups snaked through the airport in the wake of the failed attack Friday by a suspect identified as Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, of Nigeria.

He was charged Saturday with trying to destroy the plane by igniting an explosive substance hidden in his pants.

The attempted terrorist attack prompted authorities to add new layers of security on top of measures adopted in the wake of the 9-11 attacks.

The added security included additional searches of passengers and carry-on bags prior to boarding and just one carry-on bag per passenger.

Confusion over the new security measures added to the lengthy delays faced by passengers at Pearson on Sunday.

Krale said the airport tried to get the message over the weekend about the new security measures to "try to hit as many people as we could."

"Finding out those limitations when you get there and then having to reshuffle your baggage was certainly adding to some of the confusion and some of the delays," she said.

Krale could not say how long the ramped-up security measures would be in force, saying that decision is up to Transport Canada.

Authorities learned the suspect's father had previously warned U.S. officials of concerns about his son's increasingly extremist religious beliefs.

In Washington, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano conceded Monday that the aviation security system failed when the man on a watchlist with a U.S. visa in his pocket and a powerful explosive hidden on his body was allowed to board a fight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

The White House has ordered investigations into the two areas of aviation security - how travellers are placed on watch lists and how passengers are screened.

The Canadian Press has contributed to the report.