Monitors are meant to watch for suspicious passengers, but agents at Logan airport say co-workers unfairly target minorities

An initiative to flag potential terrorist threats at an Boston airport has led to to widespread racial profiling of passengers, it was reported Sunday.

A report by the New York Times found that more than 30 federal officers involved in the "behaviour detection" programme at Logan International Airport said that the operation targets black and Hispanic people as well as those of a Middle Eastern appearance.

The claims will come as an embarrassment to air security chiefs, who had been touting the initiative as a model for transport hubs across the US. It also comes at time when the Obama administration has attacked the use of racial profiling by law enforcement authorities in Arizona and elsewhere.

The programme was brought in to allow officers to stop, search and question passengers deemed to be acting suspiciously.

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