In a statement released by the White House, Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta says that commercial and private planes would be allowed to fly starting at 11 a.m. Thursday EDT. Passengers were urged to check with airlines on flight schedules and available service, and allow time to deal with new security procedures.

In the wake of Tuesday's terror attack in which four airplanes were hijacked--two from Logan, one from Washington's Dulles Airport and one from New Jersey's Newark Airport--and used to destroy the World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon, the FAA has issued a list of mandated security procedures for all major airports.

In a released statement, Virginia Buckingham, executive director and CEO of Massachusetts Port Authority says, "When Logan Airport has met the requirements, the airport will be opened. I want to stress that when operations do begin, service is likely to be very limited." In her statement Buckingham adds that it is up to individual airports and airlines to ensure that they have complied with the enhanced security directives. Logan is currently being treated as a crime scene.

As part of the new security measures, 2,500 cars are being removed from the Terminal B parking lot at Logan airport, a job that the airport's director of aviation reportedly says is very time-consuming. Additional security measures include the elimination of curbside check-in, increased frequency of random ID checks, prohibiting the sale or use of knives in the "sterile" area, reducing the number of access points to secure areas and developing a schedule for increasing security inspections in passenger terminals.

According to the released statement from Massport, the decision to reopen Logan will be made in conjunction with federal, state and local officials.