• 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

  • 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