Action over US air checks breach

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US transport officials have been placed on administrative leave after details of security procedures at US airports were mistakenly posted online.

Assistant Homeland Security secretary David Heyman said a full investigation of the incident was under way.

The existence of the document, which detailed security screening procedures, was revealed on Sunday by a blog.

Information which had been blacked out for security reasons was easily retrievable using ordinary software.

The officials placed on leave were from the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which posted the document online in March.

Its existence was reported by the Wandering Aramean blog.

The TSA said the document was outdated and the public was not in danger, though it said it said it was taking the matter seriously.

The TSA will stop posting documents containing sensitive security information on the internet until the investigation has been completed, Mr Heyman said at a Senate hearing.

The document revealed which passengers should always be given extra screening unless specifically exempted, including people with passports from Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Somalia and other countries.

It said prosthetic devices, medical dressings, wheelchairs, scooters and surgical footwear may be exempt from screening for explosives at certain times.

It also said that at busy travel periods, screening procedures could at times be reduced to 25% of normal levels and that properly accredited flight crew were not subject to restrictions on carrying liquids and gels on to aircraft.

Certain US politicians and members of the military were exempt from additional screening, it said.