Significant technological advances have been made in respect of baggage inspection, but the same has not been quite as apparent in relation to the screening of passengers themselves. Philip Baum looks at some of the systems now available set to become intrinsic elements of airport checkpoints...
The city of Rome is steeped in history. A modern, vibrant city life exists alongside some of the world's most famous monuments that have borne witness to some of the greatest technological developments in bygone civilisations. Whilst the Romans of yesteryear may be famous for their roads, the current inhabitants of the city have set into action a plan that could well place them in future history books for their development of another mode of transport's infrastructure. Italian aviation security is prepared for the 21st Century. Philip Baum visited Fiumicino to look at their state-of-the-art hold baggage screening system.
On May 24th, in Agadir, Morocco, a hijack took place. You may not have read about it in the press or seen it on CNN, despite the presence of senior representatives of a wide number of African and European civil aviation authorities. Two security guards were killed at the gate and a hostage was killed in the midst of negotiations. Despite the brevity of the incident, Philip Baum managed to get to the scene and to file this report, an exclusive for Aviation Security International.
There has been an increasing emphasis placed on the security measures adopted for the screening of air cargo in recent years. The industry has recognised that passengers, whose bags have been screened, are also exposed to the risk of a terrorist bomb being infiltrated into cargo consignments. Yet, all freighter aircraft are not subject to the same procedures. Cargolux is one such airline. Philip Baum visited their home base in Luxembourg to look at their security concerns and to examine their response.
In an attempt to increase the read rate of bar codes on baggage tags and thereby improve the tracking ability of passengers luggage, British Airways has been conducting trials using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags at London Heathrow Terminal 1 over the past few months. Philip Baum and Bill Halkett were invited by British Airways, Ultra Electronics and Texas Instruments to attend the trials.
Susan Rork is the Air Transport Association of America's expert and spokesperson on aviation security issues. Philip Baum met with her to find out more about the role of the ATA and its contribution towards achieving secure skies.
Devorah Baum attended one of the four memorial services marking the 10th anniversary of the destruction of Pan Am Flight 103; here, she looks at Lockerbie and the concept of remembrance.
Greenland might be the largest island in the world, yet its total population numbers a mere 55,000; a similar number are registered as being employed at London Heathrow airport! It's also probably the only place in the world where the main international airport is 130kms from the nearest town, to which there are no roads and land access is only possible mid-winter by a dog-sled journey. One might think passenger screening, access control and maintaining a trained security unit in such an environment would be unnecessarily burdensome, so Philip Baum headed north to find out the Greenlandic attitude towards aviation security.
The aviation security industry's primary concern is to prevent acts of unlawful interference with aircraft. That said, our crews must be prepared for any eventuality. Studies of previous kidnap incidents have demonstrated that certain syndromes are often experienced by people who have been kept hostage for a period of time. Philip Baum looks at three varieties of response which may develop in hijacked aircrew.
For those readers who have had the opportunity to listen to Captain Leul Abate's chilling account of the hijacking of Ethiopian Airlines ET 961 on 23rd November 1996 shortly after it departed from Addis Ababa for Abidjan, they will recall that he, like many other crew members who have been through the hijack ordeal, attested to the value of training in his attempts to ensure minimal injury and loss of life. Philip Baum looks at some of the factors that influence carriers in determining what type of security training they will offer their crew members.
