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.

For many, profiling means questioning. Yet, that does not have to be the case. The true essence of profiling lies in what we see and what we hear, rather than in what we ask, as Philip Baum explains.

It was December, that festive time of the year. And I'm not referring to Christmas, Diwali or Chanukah. No, for the aviation security industry the year culminated as usual with the Avsec World conference and exhibition. And for 1996 the venue was Sydney, Australia. Philip Baum reviews events and offers some thoughts on the show.

There is an international disparity in standards of airport and airline security of that, there is, no argument. Philip Baum discusses some of the more alarming differences, especially those that apply to US carriers.