AT 41 major airports around the U.S., ground crews smile apologetically as they ransack women's handbags, flip through businessmen's briefcases, tear open wrapped packages and even frisk some passengers for firearms, knives or other weapons that could be used to hijack a plane. For the passengers, these security spot checks are a brief, unaccustomed annoyance; for the airlines, they are a financial drag. Both the annoyance and the burden will climb sharply next week, as tough new federal regulations designed to guard against skyjacking take hold.
The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered that beginning in January, comprehensive anti-skyjack precautions must be...