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Flight diversions double amid heightened security. Security
scares
forced
35
flight diversions in the first quarter of 2010, more
than twice as many as the same period last year. Though the number is
tiny compared with the 550,000 commercial flights in the U.S. each
month, the increase is evidence of heightened tension that persists
months after a failed attack on a Northwest Airlines flight. "People
are quick to react to anything that's not normal," a pilot for American
Airlines said. Al-Qaida focused on
finding airline security gaps. According to a Feb. 12 CBS News
report, international terrorists are focused on finding ways to
circumvent airline security measures. Armen Keteyian, CBS News chief
investigative correspondent, reports that U.S. intelligence officials
have reportedly seen increased Internet "chatter" involving al-Qaida
operatives in Yemen concerned with security gaps in explosive detection
devices, 3-D scanners and the TSA rules for searching passengers. Feb
15, 2010 Airport scanners violate Muslim law, scholars argue. A U.S. Muslim group is urging believers to avoid full-body scanners at airports, saying the machines violate Islamic teachings on modesty. "The Quran has commanded the believers, both men and women, to cover their private parts," the Indiana-based Fiqh Council of North America said in its religious ruling this week. The TSA responded Thursday with a statement emphasizing it is committed to protecting passenger privacy and also said that passengers who don't want to go through the scanners have the option of a manual pat-down by a security guard of the same gender. Feb 12, 2010 TSA to boost
security clearance for 10,000 officers. The TSA says about 10,000
higher-level employees will get access to classified intelligence
related to possible terrorist threats against aviation targets. TSA
managers, supervisors and behavioral-detection experts -- representing
about 20% of the agency's workforce -- will be given a security
clearance just below "Top Secret." An agency spokeswoman said the
information could include details on "tactics, planning, operations and
threats." Sharing such information with officers will help "give
context to things they see every day which may otherwise not appear
unusual," she said. Feb 12, 2010 Slovak Border and Immigration Police confirmed that one of its officers "forgot about" 90 grams of research development explosive placed into the luggage of a passenger without his knowledge as part of a security exercise. The explosives were planted prior to Sunday's Danube Wings flight from Poprad-Tatry to Dublin. One sample reportedly was detected by sniffer dogs at TAT but the second was undiscovered. The police told Bloomberg News that the officer "forgot about the second sample" that eventually made its way into Ireland. The RDX was not a threat to detonate. According to the Associated Press, Slovak authorities contacted the passenger Monday--he lives and works in Ireland--and told him where to find the explosives. But they waited until Tuesday before notifying Irish authorities, who then raided the passenger's apartment, retrieved the materials and held him under arrest for several hours. The Slovak police claimed they informed the Dublin Airport Authority before the aircraft landed at DUB, but DAA insisted that it "had no contact whatsoever from authorities in Slovakia in relation to their test of their own security systems by the use of explosives" and that it "only became aware of this incident when Slovakian authorities made contact by telephone on Tuesday morning." Ireland ordered an investigation into the incident. 1/7/2010 The latest threat at a U.S. airport will mean tighter restrictions for all fliers. For some road warriors, the hassle and uncertainty are reason enough to stay close to home. The moment of panic has passed. Most of the immediate security restrictions put in place after the Christmas Day bombing attempt were temporary. There are no more bathroom embargoes or hands-on-laps policies. But that doesn't mean travel is returning to normal. On Monday, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration made a statement about "long-term sustainable measures," including "enhanced screening." According to the TSA, this will include random pat-downs, baggage inspection and explosive detection at both security checkpoints and the gates themselves. This amounts to a huge hassle, and huge hassles are bad news for people who travel for a living, those premium passengers upon whose premium fares and frequent travel so much of the aviation industry depends. It's just getting too onerous to fly. 1/6/2010 The year 2009 tied with second fewest fatal airline crashes in any year since AirSafe.com began it's annual review of airline safety events in 1996. This 14th annual review discusses eight fatal airline events, and 10 other significant events from 2009. The first and last events noted by AirSafe.com in 2009 didn't kill a single passenger, but both attracted a tremendous amount of public attention for entirely different reasons. On 15 January 2009, a US Airways A320 experienced a loss of power to both engines shortly after taking off from New York's La Guardia Airport. The crew was able to successfully ditch the aircraft in the Hudson River near midtown Manhattan. Reportedly, the aircraft encountered a flock of birds shortly after takeoff. After ditching, all five crew members and 150 passengers evacuated the aircraft. One passenger sustained serious injuries. This event was not only the first time a large passenger jet has crashed in the US because of a bird strike, it was only the fourth time a large passenger jet has successfully ditched anywhere in the world. The last high profile event of 2009 was the failed bombing attempt of a Northwest Airlines A330 airliner on Christmas day. A passenger allegedly attempted to detonate an explosive device while the aircraft was approaching Detroit on a flight from Amsterdam. The device was triggered by the alleged bomber during descent, but it only managed to start a small fire and burn the suspect's leg. The fire was put out, the crew was able to land the airplane without further incident, and no one else on the plane was injured. The investigation into how this happened is both ongoing and very wide ranging, and may lead to significant security changes for passengers all over the world. While AirSafe.com's list of events includes both airline and non-airline events, the focus of the site is on those events involving large airliners that result in the death of at least one passenger. There were eight such events in 2009, with the most catastrophic the June 1st crash of an Air France A330 in the Atlantic Ocean, a crash that killed all 216 passengers and 16 crew members. Below are the list of the eight airliner crashes with at least one passenger fatality. Reported by Todd Curtis at AirSafe.com - http://www.airsafenews.com/2010/01/airsafecom-airline-safety-review-for.html 1/6/2010 On the first day of what was supposed to be tighter screening ordered by the U.S. for airline passengers from certain countries, some airports around the world conceded Monday they had not cracked down. The United States demanded more careful screening for people who are citizens of, or are flying from, 14 nations deemed security risks. But enforcement of the U.S. rules appeared spotty. The Obama administration ordered the changes after what authorities say was a failed attempt by a Nigerian man to blow up a jetliner bound from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas Day. 1/4/2010 Government plans to introduce full-body scanners to UK airports will inevitably lead to longer journey times and more hassle for travellers, said Paul Tilstone, CEO of the Institute of Travel and Meetings (ITM) "Most people travelling on business have in the past had access to lounges, which means that if you've got to turn up earlier to go through more security measures at least you're not overly inconvenienced because you've got places to work," he said "But over the last 12 months, lots of people's travel policies have been downgraded [so they no longer have lounge access]. This is not going to make life easier for people." Mr Tilstone said that while longer security processes are unlikely to stop people flying, it does add another element to the overall hassle factor. "It means that people are put off flying unless they have to," he said. "It's not the enjoyable exercise it once was." But Nigel Turner, director of Public Sector & Industry Affairs for travel management company Carlson Wagonlit UK, said he believed the move to high tech screening would be seen in a positive light by passengers. 1/4/2010 Amsterdam Schipol Amsterdam airport operator Schiphol Group said it would buy 60 body scanners and denied allegations of lax security after a Nigerian was charged with trying to blow up a plane that took off from Schiphol. Schiphol's reputation was dented after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian, boarded a flight to Detroit on Christmas Day and was accused of trying to blow it up, and a reporter smuggled a syringe onto another aircraft last week. The airport has begun using 15 body scanners, which use radio waves to see through a person's clothing and spot hidden weapons or packages, and will buy 60 more in the coming months, Schiphol's chief executive Jos Nijhuis said in a statement. "The security scan, which we have tested extensively at Schiphol during the last three years, will now be deployed at all flights to the United States by order of the counter-terrorism agency (NCTb)," Nijhuis said. The first 20 new scanners will be delivered at "short notice" and the total cost will be "several dozens of millions of euros", Nijhuis said at Schiphol's 2010 reception. A reporter from Britain's Sunday Express last week smuggled a syringe like that used by Abdulmutallab onto a Schiphol-Heathrow flight and the paper dubbed Schiphol a "terror airport". "That we are portrayed as a 'terror airport' in some British papers is completely out of place and does not testify to any knowledge," Nijhuis said in the statement. Concern over cost and privacy have hindered the use of the scanners until now, critics saying they are too intrusive. After Dutch authorities announced last week they would use the body scanners, Nigeria, Italy, and British airport operator BAA also announced plans to use them. 1/5/2010 Kigali Airport The Rwanda Civil Aviation Authority has recently imported and commissioned new scanners, introducing the latest in technology for aviation security. The walk-through scanners are already operating at all gates and security check points. Meanwhile CCTV coverage of the airport and its environs has also been strengthened and extended to the car parks serving passengers. It was also learned that new legislation and regulations are expected to be passed when the Rwandan parliament reopens in the new year and will read, and most likely pass, the new harmonized laws covering the aviation sector in line with the other EAC member states. 1/6/2010 On The Spot Systems, Apple On The Spot Systems, Inc. said its iPhone application, Survey on the Spot, is now available to air travelers to rate airport security screening by completing a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) survey. Survey on the Spot uses the iPhone's GPS to identify the user's location and enables smartphone users to answer a TSA questionnaire quickly and easily immediately after passing through the security checkpoint. Survey on the Spot provides air travelers with easy access to a questionnaire that has been used by the TSA to rate screening procedures and gauge consumer confidence in the security of air travel. There is no cost to complete the TSA survey. iPhone users can simply download Survey on the Spot free from the Apple App store. Upon starting the app, users enter TSA and then press "Find surveys around me." The system will identify the airport they are departing from and allow them to begin the survey. The survey can also be accessed on other smartphones, such as Android and Blackberry, by using the mobile web browser to go to www.surveyonthespot.com and entering the TSA survey code, as well as the city and state of the traveler's departure. On The Spot Systems will provide all survey results to the TSA. The goal is to help the TSA improve its systems, according to Ken Kimmel, president of On The Spot Systems. Survey on the Spot was introduced on the iPhone app store in November 2009 and was designed for restaurants, hotels, retailers and other organizations to gather real-time guest satisfaction feedback using iPhone and smartphone technology. www.onthespotsystems.com. 1/4/2010 TSA The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has mandated new security measures covering inbound flights to the USA effective 4 January. Those measures are the latest response to a foiled attempt on 25 December by a Nigerian national to use explosives to destroy an Airbus A330 operated by Delta Air Lines. The administration's new directive applies to both US and international carriers operating inbound flights, and includes "long-term, sustainable security measures developed in consultation with law enforcement officials and our domestic and international partners", says the TSA. It is mandating enhanced screening for every individual flying into the USA travelling from or through nations that are state sponsors of terrorism and other countries of interest. 1/4/2010 United Airlines Three minor injuries were reported from Sunday morning's evacuation of a Newark-bound United Airlines flight, a spokesman from the airline said. All 48 passengers and five crew members were evacuated from Flight 634, which had departed from Chicago's O'Hare Airport. The aircraft had difficulty with its main landing gear before it landed at 9:27 a.m. Sunday. All passengers and crew are at the terminal, but the plane remains on the runway, and a team of technical experts are being dispatched to the site to determine the cause of the equipment problems, the spokesman said. The disabled aircraft is causing delays of close to two hours for flights arriving into at Newark Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration Web site. 1/10/2010 ZZ AirGuide 100111 |
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