For a few years, in the aftermath of incidents in Baghdad and Mombasa, the industry became overtly concerned that terrorists might try to bring down commercial aircraft using man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS) or rocket propelled grenades. Anna Costin investigates the technological options available to safeguard aircraft against such a method of attack.
With criminal gangs operating airside at many of the world’s larger airports, developing a system of evaluating who we should issue airport ID to is a major challenge. It’s not only the initial issuance of the pass, but also the continued surveillance of those we employ. How can we address the issue, without impinging upon personal privacy, and ensure that those operating airside are honest law-abiding citizens? Anna Costin reports.
The use of dogs in the detection of narcotics and explosives is nothing new. Canine units are part and parcel of many a law enforcement agency’s arsenal and dogs' olfactory sensitivities well known. Despite this, whilst Customs, Quarantine and Bio-security agencies routinely deploy them at border crossings, including airports, to sniff out illicit imports, there has been a reluctance to utilise them in pre-flight security screening. Philip Baum visited Moscow to see how one airline has invested in its own canine unit. Not only has Aeroflot embraced them as part of the counter-terrorist solution, the Russian carrier has gone a step further and is actively breeding its own dogs to ensure that their four-legged agents are the best in the pack.
Technology is fundamental to the provision of an effective security system. As those we aim to guard ourselves from go increasingly hi-tech, so must we respond in kind; ideally we should be ahead of their game. Having technological capability is one thing, using it in the right manner something altogether different. Philip Baum asks some of the industry’s leading lights in the area of technological development and solution provision their views as to how we ought to strike the correct balance between technology and human factors, how technology can respond to the threats of the future and how we can improve our current system using available solutions.
As we mark the passing of the 10th anniversary since the second Palestinian uprising, Anna Costin looks at the extent to which Arab-Israeli conflict has impacted on aviation security in the past decade and, in doing so, reviews the extent to which the region's conflict has become intertwined with and hijacked by those with a different set of goals.
The Christmas Day attempted downing of a Northwest Airlines flight has brought into focus the need for technologies that can detect devices concealed beneath the clothing or within the body. Philip Baum reviews the solutions available and considers how they might best be incorporated into the passenger screening checkpoint.
For many years, well pre-dating 9/11, it has been the standard procedure in many countries to scramble fighter jets to trail and intercept aircraft suspected of being hijacked. Post 9/11, in an era in which the use of commercial airliner as a weapon of mass destruction is a distinct possibility, governments have been forced to consider the unthinkable - shooting down an aircraft, killing innocent passengers in the process, in an attempt to prevent greater loss of life should those at the controls be intent on targeting a city centre or critical infrastructure installation. Anna Costin reviews some of the outcomes of the deliberations.
For all the investment in perimeter fences, screening technologies and manpower, recent events at both the major airports in Thailand's capital and international gateway, Bangkok, have demonstrated that there is a limit to what can be achieved by security agencies in maintaining a safe, secure operating environment. In sharp contrast to the razzmatazz surrounding the opening of the new Suvarnabhumi International Airport two years ago, the recent images emerging from the Land of Smiles portray the delicate balance between peaceful protest and anarchy. Philip Baum, in London and Aaron Le Boutillier, in Singapore, report on how Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang airports became the stage for anti-government demonstrations and the implications therof for aviation security.
Since the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US, the cost of civil aviation security has soared. Increased security measures include: the enhanced screening of carry-on luggage to prevent an increased-list of prohibited items, including large quantities of liquids and sharp items; an increase in the number of pat-down searches of passengers; advanced detection technology for both bags and passengers; the employment of more security staff and improved training and remuneration; an increase in the number of security lanes at airports; enhanced background screening of airport and airline personnel; reinforcement of cockpit doors; more anti-terror training for airline staff; increased perimeter security and policing; the development and procurement of explosive detection screening machines and high-resolution X-ray machines. Anna Costin considers who should finance this raft of security measures. Taxpayer? Airport? Airline?
The struggle to prevent further terrorist attacks continues as new intelligence reveals ever more alleged sophisticated plots. It is a struggle that must balance security with practicality and civil liberties. But it is not only extremists, seeking to attack airports and aircraft or to use aircraft as weapons, who pose a security risk. Demonstrators, from a variety of causes have hit airports in recent times. Anna Costin takes a look at some of these incidents and discusses their wider security implications.
