• Debate intensifies over full-body scanners

    The Christmas Day near-bombing invigorated an already-keen interest in whole-body scanners; there is debate going on over the effectiveness – and health risks – of the two main technologies available: millimeter-wave radiation and backscatter radiation; some suggest soft chemical ionization as an alternative

  • U.K, European rail boom forecast as travelers tire of airport scan queues

    Concerns have been raised in the United Kingdom that whole-body scanners could significantly increase journey times as passengers queue to go through the detectors; this could lead to frequent flyers, particularly business travelers, deciding to opt for the train for domestic and short haul European flights

  • Whole body scanner may be part of the answer, but not all of it

    Whole body scanners should provide the answer to security screening, but the human element – people get bored, distracted, and careless – will make them less than flawless; the future of screening is technology that reduces the possibility of human error to zero; there is also a need for passenger profiling that does not need to take into account the race or religion of the passenger

  • DHS seeking volunteers for flights, embassies

    DHS has circulated an internal memo to its employees seeking volunteers to train as air marshals and to serve at U.S. diplomatic posts abroad; fewer than 1 percent of the average of 28,000 daily commercial flights in the United States carryair marshals

  • Slovak explosives found in Dublin flat

    The Slovakian government wanted to test airport security in Bratislava by planting explosives in the luggage of eight unsuspecting passengers; security checks at the airport discovered the explosives in the luggage of seven of them, but the eighth passenger had the explosives in his luggage so well concealed, that he made it to Ireland undetected

  • New airport security drive spurs scanner patent surge

    The averted Christmas bombing was only the latest evidence that there is a need for better, and more sophisticated, airport security technologies; a look at the dossiers of the U.S. Patent Office shows that many companies and individuals have applied for patents for a variety of security technologies

  • 2010: Topics for homeland security discussion

    The only thing we can say for sure about 2010 is terrorists, criminals, and mother nature will surprise us at some point during 2010; still, based on what we do know, we offer a short list of topics we predict will dominate the homeland security discussion in the coming year – from whole-body scanners to 100 percent air cargo screening to social Web sites to communication interoperability to the consequences of climate change (or is there a climate change?)

  • Several travel firms refuse ID cards as passport alternative

    Major travel companies say they would not recognize the U.K. ID cards as alternative to passports for European travel by U.K. citizens; more problems for the already-mired-in-controversy scheme

  • Air travel security reviews under way after airliner attack

    The Obama administration has launched a review of two aspects of air travel security – the effectiveness of the no-fly watch list and explosive detection; critics take issue with DHS secretary Napolitano’s assertion that the air travel security system “worked”

  • El Al flights to Johannesburg may come to an end over security personnel dispute

    Israeli airline El-AL boasts the toughest security measures of any airline; the El-Al security personnel at various airports around the world carry diplomatic passports, giving them immunity from law suits; the South African government does not like this practice, but EL-AL insists that if its security people cannot carry diplomatic passports, it will cancel its flights to South Afria

  • Aussies set to relax airport security

    A federal government’s white paper sets out a more relaxed blueprint for airport security in Australia; passengers will again be able to take things like nail clippers and knitting needles in carry-on baggage but more checked baggage will be subject to screening and there will be tighter controls on security staff at airports.

  • Real ID arrives on 1 January : Will you be allowed to board a domestic flight?

    Unless Congress extends the deadline for implementing the Real ID Act, air travelers will have to produce a Real ID-compliant driver’s license as a means of identification – or they will not be allowed on board; trouble is, more than thirty states have not agreed to Real ID, and the driver’s licenses they issue may not be fully compliant with the act’s strictures

  • TSA moves to deploy new screening technology

    TSA says it is moving aggressively to deploy new advanced technology (AT) airport security systems jointly produced by Smiths Detection and Rapiscan; TSA is also kicking off the procurement process for next-generation explosive detection system machines.

  • Terrorism, technology drove changes in travel in the last decade

    Air travel today is characterized by flight delays, lost baggage, overbooked flights, fewer onboard amenities, and fees for things that used to be free; air travelers now must come to the air port early, stand in line, take their shoes off, and carry smaller shampoo bottles; on the plus side, the Internet has allowed for Web-based ticket purchasing, trip planning, hotel shopping, and more.

  • Airport kiosks do more things, but they do not yet check luggage

    There is trend toward installing more self-serving kiosk at U.S. airports – an have these kiosk do more; thousands of self-serve kiosks in the last few years so passengers can print boarding passes, confirm flights and change seats on the touch-screen computers; in the future, kiosks may let passengers buy a meal on the plane or volunteer to give up a seat if a flight is overbooked.