US embassy apologizes after former Indian president frisked at airport

NEW DELHI — The United States Embassy has apologized after a former Indian president’s shoes and jacket were checked after he had boarded a flight in America.

The embassy’s statement Sunday said that the incident at John F. Kennedy airport in New York city in September was “deeply” regretted. It was reported in the local media over the weekend.
The statement said the charge d’affaires, Peter Burleigh, delivered letters from the U.S. Transportation Security Administration to former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and the Indian government apologizing that the expedited airport screening process for dignitaries had not been followed.
In 2009 Kalam, president from 2002-2007, was frisked by Continental Airlines employees in New Delhi before boarding a U.S.-bound flight.