US Air Marshalls will now be onboard US-TT flights

United States (US) Air Marshalls will now be onboard "selected flights" between Trinidad and Tobago (TT) and the US.

This was announced today by the US Embassy in Port-of-Spain, which said the agreement to do so is "in line with (both countries') deep and expanding program of security and law enforcement cooperation."

The agreement provides for the continued security presence of In-Flight Security Officers (IFSOs); more commonly known as Air Marshals in the US, between the TT and the US.

Air Marshals are security officers deployed on aircraft for the purpose of carrying out duties pursuant to aviation security.

The US Embassy said, "The renewed commitment will ensure that the US and TT continue to be on the forefront of the latest methodologies and security concepts. More importantly, this agreement allows the US and TT to continue to be part of an evolving joint global strategy to thwart terrorism in the civil aviation community now and into the future."

"IFSO programs throughout the globe continue to be developed," the Embassy added, "providing a risk-based inflight line of defense for terrorist attacks against civil aviation."

The US Embassy thanked the TT Government for its support and cooperation and specifically thanked the Acting Comptroller of Customs, Glenn Singh, "for his commitment to ensuring the Federal Air Marshall program is and remains a success."