Some of the most exciting airport development projects of the early 21st Century are taking place in south east Asia. Hong Kong's Chep Lap Kok is already winning awards and both Bangkok and Manila are set to open new state-of-the-art terminals in the next few years. But it's not only about appearance as, behind the scenes, airlines, airports authorities and contract security companies are all taking security extremely seriously. Philip Baum travelled to the region to find out more.

Behind the scenes, around the globe, manufacturers are researching new technologies to aid our efforts to combat the threat posed to civil aviation. Philip Baum reviews some of the products currently being developed that may become standard installations at airports and on board aircraft in the future.

From X-ray to biometrics and covert communication to system integration, Germany has been leading the way in the development of technologies that serve to enhance the aviation security community. In the same way that German cars, German photographic equipment and German household appliances have become synonymous with excellence, so too its security manufacturers are ever enhancing their reputation for the supply of quality products. Philip Baum paid some of the key players a visit to report of some of the country's latest offerings.

When Rafi Ron tendered his notice to the Israel Airports Authorities, little did he know how significantly the aviation security industry would change or how timely his decision was to establish New Age. Philip Baum caught up with him in Boston where New Age are acting as consultants to the airport that has been one of the most proactive in security development despite, or perhaps because of, it being the departure point for two of the hijacked airliners a year ago. Ron talks about how Boston's Logan Airport has adapted to the new era and explains his faith in a new style of profiling - behavioural pattern recognition.

One year and one day after the worst breach of security in aviation history, Philip Baum travelled to Washington to meet the United States Secretary of Transportation, Norman Y. Mineta. In this exclusive interview, Mineta recalls 911 from a personal perspective then expounds on some of the significant achievements of the past year in respect of aviation security in the United States.

From an aviation security perspective, mention Athens and one cannot fail to be reminded of some of the high profile attacks in our brief history. The Greek authorities have quite naturally, been keen to put such incidents behind them and, sporting a brand new airport and with the city set to host the next Olympic Games in 2004, security is now equal to many of the best. Philip Baum flew in to report on the airport's odyssey from security pariah to security torch.

On 26 January 1972, a Jat DC-9 en route from Copenhagen to Zagreb and Belgrade exploded 33,000 feet over Srbska-Kamenice in Czechoslovakia. Ustashe, otherwise known as the Croatian National Movement, later admitted their responsibility for the bombing that should have killed all 29 passengers and crew. Miraculously, however, there was a survivor. he body of a flight attendant, Vesna Vulovic, was recovered from the wreckage. Thirty years on, Philip Baum travelled to Belgrade to hear her story.

September 11th has called into question our strategies for confronting terrorism both in the global area of international politics and in the day-to-day preventative measures that are employed to protect civilians in their workplace, at their leisure venues and as they travel. The aviation security industry is being overhauled and many new technologies are surfacing to counter the threat. Philip Baum highlights some of the technologies, which six months ago were thought to belong to the distant future, and which are now already being tried and tested in airports around the globe.

A five-hour flight from America's mainland lies the island state of Hawaii. The name conjures up images of surfboards, tropical beaches, floral shirts, volcanic eruptions, hula girls and Polynesian culture. The world of international terrorism, despite Hawaii Five-O, seems an anathema but, as Philip Baum discovered, the authorities responsible for security at Honolulu International Airport take the threat to security very seriously indeed.

Had the industry ever contemplated the possibility of hijackers intentionally killing themselves as part of their action plan? It is a question that has been asked of the aviation security fraternity by the world's media time and time again in recent weeks. Whilst the scale of the September 11th attacks shocked us all, Philip Baum reports that this was not the first time that hijackers had selected aviation as a journey to the grave.