Originally Posted by
poisson
The last time I flew back to the US from CDG, I was asked questions at check-in before getting my boarding passes by some security people. Do these people work for the airport or CBP or what?
No. Those agents work for ICTS, a contract security company, on behalf of the
airline, not a government agency or airport authority. Many U.S.-based airlines that operate flights from Europe contract with ICTS to conduct screening of passengers, typically to ask baggage security questions.
(Note that these security procedures are separate from the normal security checkpoints with x-ray/metal detectors that usually are conducted by screeners working directly for, or sometimes on behalf of, the airport authority.)