Security at UK airports is to be tightened after US officials raised fears about terrorists in Syria and Yemen developing explosives that could be smuggled on to planes.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said on Wednesday night that it would "step up some of our aviation security measures" following the warning from US security chiefs.

US officials told Reuters that security at European airports would be increased following intelligence that al-Qaida operatives in Syria and Yemen had joined forces to develop bombs that would avoid detection and bring down aircraft.

The US did not specify which airports or countries would be affected, nor did it say what triggered the extra precautions.

The DfT confirmed that aviation in Britain would be affected but declined to comment on what extra measures would be in place. It is thought that they could include increased random screening of passengers and tighter scrutiny of footwear, mobile phones and computers.

A DfT spokesman said the changes would not cause significant disruption to passengers and the threat level remained at substantial, meaning an attack was a strong possibility.

He said: "The UK government keeps aviation security under constant review in conjunction with international partners and the aviation industry.

"We have taken the decision to step up some of our aviation security measures. For obvious reasons we will not be commenting in detail on those changes."

The US department of homeland security said "enhanced security measures" would be implemented in the next few days at "certain overseas airports with direct flights into the United States".

The department secretary, Jeh Johnson, said: "We are sharing recent and relevant information with our foreign allies and are consulting the aviation industry."

US intelligence believes extremists in Syria and Yemen have been in contact to develop bombs that escape heightened security measures, although they do not have specific intelligence about an imminent attack or specific plot emanating from the suspected collaboration.

Some in the US intelligence community also believe that "training complexes" have been set up in Syria for western jihadists so they can return to their home countries better trained to carry out attacks.

While that conclusion is the subject of debate, it shows the level of fear counter-terrorism officials have about the threat posed by violent jihadists from Syria – now considered to be the main one facing the west.

Intelligence is reported to suggest bomb makers from Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian peninsula (AQAP) have travelled to Syria to meet al-Qaida-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra to work on ways to get an explosive device past existing security.

AQAP was behind two failed plots that evaded aviation security. One was the underpants bomb over the US in December 2009, where the device did not explode fully. The other was the two ink cartridge bombs hidden on separate cargo planes that were aimed to detonate over the eastern US in October 2010. In that plot the concealment of the devices was so innovative it initially escaped detection by experienced bomb experts, but they were discovered at enroute stop-overs following an intelligence tipoff.

Since the September 11 2001 attacks al-Qaida-inspired terrorists have developed plots that have exploited weaknesses in aviation security. The largest was the liquid bomb plot broken in 2006, based in the UK.

Security experts said the heightened security measures did not necessarily mean the US was acting on intelligence of a specific bomb plot.

The independent aviation analyst Chris Yates said: "You could argue that this being Independence Day weekend in the States everybody is going to be on tenterhooks and watching carefully. This could be an example of someone at the department for homeland security watching carefully and putting two and two together and coming up with five."

Yates said he would be surprised if the heightened security did not lead to delays for passengers flying to the US from busy British airports. He said: "They say the measures shouldn't impact on travel but take Heathrow, with multiple flights a day to the US, and the likelihood is this could end up causing a backlog."

Information suggesting increased threats can be wrong and the subject of debate among intelligence officials.

Intelligence in 2010 about a feared Mumbai-style gun and bomb plot against an unspecified European target led to a retooling in the UK of the police's planned response to an armed attack and extra resources being deployed. Some with close knowledge of the debates at the time now believe the intelligence was mistaken or incorrectly analysed.

A spokesman for Heathrow airport in London declined to comment on the new security measures. British Airways could not be reached for comment. A Virgin Atlantic spokeswoman said: "We don't comment on operational security matters."