• Maintaining security at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport

    In 2006, Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport handled 9 million international passengers and 405,000 domestic passengers; it did so while being among the world’s most secure — if not the most secure — airports; two Israeli companies, Hi-Tech Solutions and Rontal, made their own contributions to achieving that level of security

  • Airport Security

    Airport security is about more than lighters and scissors; it is about offering efficient and effective answers to this daunting challenge; industry’s innovative technologies, and close cooperation between industry and government, are two essential ingredients of such answers

  • The state of U.S. borders

    Nearly half of the envisioned 670 miles of border fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border is complete; DHS says that the advanced technology component of the border monitoring system will be rolled out soon, and that other measures are making the border more secure

  • 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

  • AMTRAK buys explosive detectors from Smiths Detection

    AMTRAK will use the SABRE 4000 to screen passengers, carry-on baggage at train stations and on trains for explosives

  • 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