• Israel issues hijack alert to airlines flying to Israel

    Following the killing of arch-terrorist Imad Mugniyah in the heart of Damascus, and fearing Hizbullah retaliation, Israel Transportation Ministry ordered all carriers to Israel to tighten security measures in an effort to counter potential terror attack

  • TSA lab's new concept in airport security: Tunnel of Truth

    Futuristic vision of airport security would see passengers stand on a conveyor belt moving under an archway as different sensors scan them for weapons, bombs, and other prohibited items; no need to take the shoes off; by the time they step out of the tunnel, they have been thoroughly checked out

  • TSA experiment with passengers choosing between lanes

    Families with children and passengers with a lot of baggage arrive at airports hours before their flights; business people typically arrive at the last minute; some passengers fly more often than others; TSA wants to see whether offering different passengers different lanes would help efficiency and security

  • Glasgow's Skyhub to increase passengers comfort, security

    Glasgow Airport will soon open Skyhub, a £31 million extension aiming to transform the experience for passengers and reduce waiting times for security checks to five minutes for 95 percent of all travelers — while increasing security

  • Austrian Airlines selects CabinVu-123 from AD Aerospace

    One lesson of 9/11 was that making the cockpit door impregnable, and allowing pilots clear view of the area outside the door, would improve on-board security; Austrian Airlines chooses cockpit door monitoring system from a U.K. specialist

  • Raytheon's Vigilant Eagle

    Planes are vulnerable to shoulder-fired missiles, or MANPADS, only up to a certain altitude — which means that they are vulnerable only after take-off and before landing; Raytheon offers a ground-based defensive system which would create a protective dome around airports; system would use sensors to identify missiles and pulses of intense microwave to disrupt them

  • Protecting against cosmic radiation effects on aviation microelectronics

    Cosmic radiation has a deleterious effect on aviation microelectronics — the effect on circuitry is 300 times greater at high altitude than at ground level, creating a potential risk to civil and military aircraft; U.K. scientists accelerate the effects of cosmic radiation so they can replicate the effect of thousands of hours of flying time in just a few minutes

  • Airport security emulates ski industry

    One way to shorten airport lines and still maintain security: Separate lanes for the “expert” travelers and other lanes for less experienced passengers

  • Florida airports will require 10 fingerprints from foreign visitors

    To beef up efforts to catch terrorists and criminals, DHS starts new program in Florida airports — program which requires all foreign visitors to have all ten fingers electronically printed

  • Decision on Cyber Command's location delayed

    Air Force was supposed to determine the location of the newly created Cyber Command by 1 October; decision delayed to 31 December; four military bases compete for the command

  • Better way to board a plane

    Fermi Lab physicist studies different ways for passengers to board a plane; using a Monte Carlo optimization algorithm, he found the optimal method: Passengers would board 10 at a time in every other row (since loading luggage requires about two aisles of space); this way, passengers could always be boarding luggage or sitting in their seats, rather than waiting in the aisle, as in current boarding methods

  • Company looks for ways to expedite airport security

    Bay Area airports will be using Clear — a security screening system which passengers can subscribe to for about $100 per year; the creator of Clear launched a contest, offering a $500,000 prize for new technology which gets its customers through security lines 15 percent faster at a cost of less than 25 cents per passenger

  • FBI worried about surge in sales of book detailing airport security gaps

    A book detailing gaps in airport security enjoys a surprising surge in sales; the FBI, which keeps track of sales of books which may benefit terrorists — and also of similar library books being checked out — wants to know more

  • BAA in Heathrow RFID trial

    BAA begins Heathrow trial for RFID-based baggage tracking system

  • IAI's Stark subsidiary eyeing U.S. defense, homeland security markets

    IAI establishes a U.S. subsidiary to market its UAVs and payloads in the U.S. defense and homeland security markets; IAI is eyeing the U.S. coast guard and border patrol; first goal: Offer IAI’s Heron 1 as an alternative to General Atomics’ Predator