Following threats of terrorism, the United States Department of Homeland Security has announced plans to increase security on all inbound commercial flights to the United States.

The new security checks which will raise the global baseline of aviation security, will include enhanced screening of electronic devices and more thorough passenger vetting.

Announcing this on Wednesday, DHS Secretary John Kelly said "We have a lot of ground to cover today. Our nation is being targeted daily by terrorists, criminals, hackers, nation states, and more.

“We cannot play international whack-a-mole with each new threat. Instead, we must put in place new measures across the board to keep the travelling public safe and make it harder for terrorists to succeed.”

According to Terry, there is renewed interest on the part of terrorist groups to go after the aviation sector—from bombing aircraft to attacking airports on the ground, as witnessed in Brussels and Istanbul recently.

In March this year, the US introduced a ban on electronic devices larger than mobile phones being carried onboard aircraft flying to the US from 10 airports in the Middle East and North Africa.

Every day, about 180 airlines operate 2,100 flights from approximately 280 airports in 105 countries carrying 325,000 passengers.