Security ramped up at airports in U.S., UK, Amsterdam

         (FROM CNN)


Passengers flying into the United States from abroad should expect additional security measures at U.S. and international airports after a passenger detonated a device aboard a flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Detroit, Michigan, the Transportation Security Administration said Saturday.
Measures will include increased pat-downs and gate screening, as well as having to stow carry-ons and personal items, including pillows.
"We ask that passengers follow the instructions of international security and flight crews," the TSA said.
Security has also been ramped up at U.K. airports and at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, where the suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, went through "normal security procedures" before boarding the flight, according to security officials.
Abdulmutallab, 23, was charged in a federal criminal complaint Saturday with attempting to destroy the plane Friday on its final approach to Detroit Metropolitan Airport, and placing a destructive device on the aircraft, the Department of Justice said.
At Schiphol, secondary screenings were boosted Saturday with body searches and bag checks, officials said.
As part of the increased security, passengers on a flight Saturday from Brussels, Belgium, to Dulles Airport in Virginia were not allowed to leave their seats for the last hour of the flight, a traveler told CNN.
Niki Yazzie said the flight crew told the passengers that they had to remain in their seats with their seatbelts fastened and couldn't have any items, such as pillows or blankets, covering their laps; everything was stowed away.
Passenger Johnny McDonald, who was on a U.S. domestic flight, told CNN he saw officials X-ray milk parents had brought for infants and saw many people patted down.
"They X-rayed the milk I don't know how many times," McDonald said. "And then they took the milk out and sampled each and every bottle of the milk. I've never seen that before."
Secondary searches are also being introduced much more widely at airports around the world, CNN's Richard Quest reported.
An official with the TSA told CNN that along with increased security at airports, screening likely will take longer. No details were provided on all the steps being taken.
The official advised travelers to allow for extra time before their flights. There will be no changes in screening requirements and no change in the number of carry-on bags allowed.

A note was released earlier this week by the Office of Intelligence and Analysis that said FBI officials "currently have no specific, credible intelligence indicating plans by al Qaeda or other terrorist groups to conduct attacks in the United States during the 2009 holiday season."