• Israel's Code Positive pilot security in final trial phase

    Israel has developed a new identification method for planes entering Israeli air space; first trial phase proved successful, and airlines from five countries now begin second and final phase of trial

  • Foreign repairs of U.S. planes worry lawmakers

    More and more U.S. airlines outsource the repair and maintenance of their planes to shops outside the United States; the FAA has approved 700 such non-U.S. shops to work on U.S. planes; critics say the FAA does not have the resources to verify the quality of the work being done in these shops – or the security measures these shops take to make sure that U.S. airlines will not find “al-Qaeda under the hood”

  • U.K. background checks of airport employees lax

    There are about 200,000 employees in U.K. airports with permission to enter restricted zones; the criminal background of these employees is being checked before they are given such permissions—but these background checks apply only to the crimes which took place in the United Kingdom; the background checks do not apply to crimes committed in other countries

  • FLO completes $7.1 million financing

    As airports grow more crowded and security lines lengthen, there is money to be made in whisking passengers past airport hassles; FLO offers registered traveler solutions, and investors show interest

  • Facial recognition scans to be deployed in U.K. this summer

    U.K. government plans to deploy facial recognition scanners at U.K. airport this summer; scanner will allow for automatic security checks at gates

  • Indonesia runs airport bird flu drill

    Indonesia is the nation worst hit by the bird flu so far, with 107 dead since the first human case appeared here in 2005; authorities run a bird flu detection drill at the Bali airport

  • Travelers uneasy about new airport security device

    Scanner can see through clothing to search for concealed weapons; travelers have diverse opinions about its use

  • Safety in (random) numbers

    USC researchers posit that a key to airport security is making security unpredictable (from the point of view of a potential terrorist); there is a difference between merely mixing things up and making police operations truly, systematically random

  • Millimeter wave scanners to be deployed at JFK, LAX

    At JFK, passengers sent to secondary screening will be given the option of a pat-down or a trip through the body imager; at LAX, the millimeter wave machine will be located just beyond the checkpoint magnetometers

  • Behavioral observation program questioned

    TSDA has been training security officers in behavioral observation, then placed them in major U.S. airports to observe passengers and note suspicious behavior; in the past four years, 104,000 passengers were pulled out of line to answer to more serious security measures, but fewer than 700 were arrested – all on criminal, rather than terror, charges; critics are not sure the $45 million annual tab is justified

  • Kinder, gentler security checkpoints

    TSA wants to try a new approach to airport security checkpoints: Mauve lights glowing softly, soothing music hums, smiling employees offer quiet greetings and assistance

  • Israeli carriers on high alert

    Number of security guards on flights boosted, helicopters escort takeoffs and arrivals in several airports worldwide for fear of missile launching; fear of Hezbollah’s attack

  • EU drops border security controls with 9 more countries

    Nine more countries enter the Schengen area as of Sunday; air border checks will no longer be necessary for European passengers to go to of from these new area members

  • JFK now requires 10 fingerprints from visitors

    New York’s JFK joins a list of other U.S. airports now requiring non-U.S. citizens to submit ten fingerprints; on a typical day, JFK sees almost 14,400 international visitors complete US‑VISIT biometric procedures

  • Company profile: Brijot Imaging Systems

    One of the promised benefits of millimeter wave technology is its ability to scan from distance making it particularly attractive in areas where human traffic is a problem for traditional screening methods