British plane held for 'reverse screening'
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British Airways Flight 223 from Heathrow Airport sits on the tarmac at Dulles International Airport.
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CNN's Kelli Arena reports on possible attacks by al Qaeda and related groups.
British plan for marshals on some flights to U.S.meets resistance.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. authorities questioned passengers onboard a British Airways flight shortly after it arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport Wednesday night from London.
The plane landed shortly after 7 p.m. ET. Passengers on board British Airways Flight 223 from Heathrow Airport were questioned before being allowed to leave.
A Homeland Security official said about a dozen planes a week undergo a "reverse screen," even when the country is not on high alert. Security was tight across the United States as millions joined New Year's Eve celebrations Wednesday evening.
"It's just an additional security precaution we are taking as part of our layered approach to homeland security," the official said.
The plane was detained long enough to screen the passengers, the official said. Some of the passengers were seen leaving the plane shortly after 10 p.m.
The United States raised its terror threat alert level to high, or orange, December 21, fearing that terrorists may attempt to strike during the holiday season. Orange is the second-highest on the five-tiered, color-coded alert scale.
On Monday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security also called on foreign airlines to put guards on some flights that fly to, from or over the United States.
U.S. officials said Tuesday that the United Kingdom had received intelligence recently regarding general threats to Britain's airliners. (Full story)
British airlines were informed of the intelligence, U.S. officials said, and some, including Virgin Atlantic Airways, began manning flights with armed officers. It is unclear when the airlines began doing so.
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Tuesday that air marshals are needed because "there's a continuous stream of threat reporting, that we've seen now for two years, that al Qaeda continues to look at commercial aviation, passenger traffic, as either a target or as a weapon." (Full story)
Airliners that fail to place marshals onboard flights when notified may be refused government permission to land or fly over the United States.
On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, all Air France flights into and out of Los Angeles, California, were canceled due to concerns over the possibility of a terrorist attack.
