Airline passengers at John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens are now subject to new in-flight regulations imposed at individual pilots' discretion, following last week's attempted attack of a Detroit-bound plane.

Captains can now decide whether passengers can have access to carry-on luggage, blankets or other items, or if they can leave their seats the last hour of flight.

Restrictions have also been lifted on in-flight screens that show the plane's path.

Some passengers said Tuesday that they were concerned that the captain would have to focus on something other than flying the plane.

"I think it should be uniform throughout. I don't think it should be at the captain's discretion," said one traveler. "I think everyone should be under the same rules."

"I think he should have say if he's alerted by his crew that there's something suspicious, but why should he get involved in the screening process," said another. "I'm sure he's got other responsibilities. But if his crew said there's a problem, he should listen to his crew. You have to follow your gut."

"I would be interested in knowing what the captain's discretion is based on," said a third. "What is he really judging against? He's up there in the cockpit. How does he know it's safe to loosen up the restrictions or not?"

A number of passengers said they would prefer that the government concentrate more on improving security at airport checkpoints, and leave regulations in flight more relaxed.

Airline security has been tight since the Christmas Day incident, when a Nigerian man attempted to detonate an explosive strapped to his body during the flight, leading to several delays and long lines at airports worldwide.

But many of the extensive pat-downs and luggage examinations depend on the airport.

Travel experts say the inconsistency in rules may be deliberate, to confuse potential terrorists.

Travelers are still being urged to show up an extra hour early for flights into and out of New York.

"Obviously security is the number one priority, but it was pretty annoying," said one traveler of the new restrictions.

"You definitely felt a lot more security around," said another.

Governor David Paterson said that 80 extra National Guard troops will be at JFK and LaGuardia Airports during peak travel times this week. The guard will also patrol ground transportation hubs on New Year's Eve.

An official in Yemen said the suspect in the Christmas incident, 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, spent time in that country on two separate occasions, from 2004 to 2005, and again from August to early December of this year.

There also appear to be Internet postings, possibly from Abdulmutallab, in which a user named "Farouk1986'' posts about his alienation from his family and hopes that a "great jihad'' will take place across the world.

As of Tuesday, officials had not verified if these postings were written by Abdulmutallab.

An al-Qaida faction in Yemen claimed responsibility Monday for the attempted attack, saying it was retaliation for a U.S. operation against the group. It also said the bomb was made by al-Qaida members.

U.S. officials have yet to authenticate the claim.

An FBI photo, seen right, shows the explosive device investigators say Abdulmutallab smuggled onto the plane in his underwear. They say he tried to ignite the bomb while the plane was preparing to land, but only wound up setting himself and his seat on fire.

Abdulmutallab is being held in a federal prison in Michigan on charges of trying to destroy an aircraft.

New York Representative Peter King called for Abdulmutallab to be tried by a military tribunal rather than a civilian court. The leading Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee said it will be more difficult for authorities to get useful information from the suspect if he is given the legal rights afforded to typical defendants.

The government was expected to request a DNA sample from him at a court hearing Monday, but the hearing was postponed until next week.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama said Tuesday that initial reviews of the nation's terror watch list system and its safety regulations are due by New Year's Eve.

"The reviews I've ordered will surely tell us more, but what already is apparent is that there was a mix of human and systemic failures that contributed to this potential catastrophic breach of security," said the president. "We need to learn from this episode and work quickly to fix the flaws of our system because security is at stake and lives are at stake."

Questions have been swirling over why Abdulmutallab was allowed to board Northwest Airlines flight 253, even though his name was in a database of people with suspected terrorist ties.

U.S. intelligence officials have said they didn't have enough information to place him on an official terror watch list or no-fly list.

Investigators are also trying to figure out why Abdulmutallab was allowed to have a valid U.S. visa, despite warnings from his father about his extremist views.

New York Senator Charles Schumer called for stronger security measures at home and overseas Tuesday.

Schumer said Obama should conduct a review of security measures at foreign airports as well as those in America, and that huge loopholes in security have to be closed. He also said lax measures and communication lapses led to last week's botched attack.

"When someone buys a one-way ticket to the United States with cash, bells should be going off," said Schumer. "When that person is already on one of our lists of someone who might be dangerous, lots of red flags should pop up. That should happen whether that person boards a plane here in America or boards on plane anywhere else in the world."

Schumer said there should be "more boots on the ground," and said there should be more TSA representative at foreign airports to ensure strict guidelines are followed.

The senator said there currently 21 representatives around the world, and that any foreign government that does not comply should face sanctions.

Meanwhile, there is controversy swirling over high-tech security scanners that some say would have detected the explosive powder that was smuggled onto the plane.

So far, only 19 U.S. airports have the machines.

Critics say the scanners violate privacy because screeners can see through a passenger's clothing. But advocates say security is more important.