WASHINGTON — The Transportation Security Administration is tightening security rules for ******* and airport workers in the wake of a criminal case in which an Atlanta ******* handler was accused of smuggling **** on commercial jets, Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said Monday.

In the immediate ********* of the December ******, Johnson ordered a 90-day review of security measures and now the agency is closing some security gaps the review highlighted.

Among the changes announced Monday are new rules requiring real-time, recurring criminal background checks for aviation workers, including ******* employees. Fingerprint-based background checks will also now be conducted every two years for airport employees who hold Secure Identification Display Area badges.

Johnson said airport and ******* workers travelling as passengers will also have to go through TSA screening before boarding a flight. The number of access points to secure areas will be reduced to an “operational minimum,” he said.

The security review and subsequent changes were made in the ********* of a *** smuggling case involving an Atlanta-based ******* handler who was accused of helping smuggle ******* from Atlanta to New York on passenger jets.

Johnson said the security changes will greatly reduce “the potential insider ******” posed by aviation employees.