Aviation Security - General Thread

[Aviador]

Officials Plan to Step Up Air Security

Domestic and international airline passengers returning home from the holidays might see increased security measures at airports around the world, U.S. officials said Friday.

President Barack Obama ordered heightened security after a passenger aboard an international flight, Northwest Airlines Flight 253, attempted to detonate an explosive device. Mr. Obama called for "all appropriate measures" to be taken following the incident Friday.

A Transportation Security Administration official said the agency was working "with our international partners on international measures for U.S.-bound flights."

Domestically, an official with the Department of Homeland Security said a host of measures would be quietly put into place at airports across the country.

The official said some of the measures might be noticeable to the traveling public, while others would be unseen. They would likely include increased personnel, bomb-sniffing dogs and increased "behavioral detection" methods employed by screeners.

In addition, officials said the measures would be put into place at some airports, but not all.

Officials declined to say whether passengers could expect delays, but urged travelers to check with the TSA, http://www.tsa.gov, and their airline before flying.

The threat level for airline security has been high, or orange under the color-coded advisory system, since 2006, when authorities say they disrupted a plot to detonate liquid explosives on trans-Atlantic airliners.

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[Aviador]

Re: Worldwide | Airport Security, immigration & Border Control

This could have implications for airport security in the UK. I would expect to see heightened security measures at UK airports after this incident.

 

[Aviador]

Re: Worldwide | Airport Security, immigration & Border Control

Emergency security ‘pat-downs’ bring chaos to UK airports

Emergency security measures ordered by the American government yesterday quickly led to chaos at Heathrow and other British airports with delays reaching up to five hours.

The authorities instructed all airlines to impose the new tier of last-minute checks on all passengers flying to America within hours of a Nigerian man’s arrest over an apparent attempt to blow up a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit.

Every passenger flying into an American airport will now be subjected to an extra “pat-down” body search and will have their hand luggage examined at terminal gates by airline staff just before they board.

The measures were imposed indefinitely by the Transportation Security Administration within hours of the incident.

The new checks are in addition to those already carried out by airport security. Until now, this extra level of security has been applied only to a small proportion of randomly selected passengers.

The American government has ordered strict enforcement of the limit of one piece of hand luggage for each passenger. Airlines have been told that all travellers should remain seated for the final hour of any flight to an American airport.

Most flights from Heathrow and Gatwick to America were delayed by nearly three hours yesterday afternoon. Four flights bound for Miami around midday were delayed by almost four hours.

A British Airways (BA) spokesman said conditions were “challenging”, but added that no services were cancelled.

The American authorities have also told airlines to suspend operation of their in-flight mapping systems, the displays on the in-flight film screens that show the location of an aircraft and how far it is from its destination. This has forced some airlines to disable their entire in-flight entertainment systems.

Scott Cullen, 32, from Somerset, who was flying with Virgin Atlantic from Heathrow to New York, said yesterday: “We have been told there will definitely be no movies or anything similar because of what has happened in America.”

By 2pm yesterday, most transatlantic flights from the airport were leaving hours late because of delays caused by the additional security checks. BA, Virgin Atlantic and other airlines called in staff from their Christmas breaks to ease the backlog.

Norman Shanks, until 1996 head of security at BAA, the airport operator, said the heightened rules imposed by the American authorities were impractical and only likely to cause congestion, with little improvement to passenger safety.

“Having two sets of people doing security checks is likely to make both teams relax,” said Shanks. “Suspending the in-flight maps is also unlikely to have any impact. People can see they are nearing landing by looking out the window.”

Shanks said a limit of one piece of luggage per person would make people pack bags more densely, making it harder for scanners to identify threatening objects. He added: “Richard Reid [the failed bomber of 2001] was seated when he tried to set off a bomb in his shoe — being seated is no assurance that someone isn’t trying to set off a bomb.”

A spokesman for BAA yesterday urged passengers travelling to America to arrive earlier and carry less hand luggage. “Passengers travelling to the US should expect their airline to carry out additional security checks prior to boarding,” they said.

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[Aviador]

Re: Worldwide | Airport Security, immigration & Border Control

The Nigerian terrorist and grasping nettles

Racism is abhorrent. It is inhuman, illogical and, in the case of preventing terrorism, dangerously counter-productive. But the present random, scattergun approach to security screening at airports will have to change. Obviously we can’t check every single passenger as thoroughly as we might like to, but we will have to grasp the nettle of searching more carefully those statistically more likely to commit an atrocity.

All of those on ‘watch lists’, like Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, will have to undergo more stringent examinations. Confiscating tweezers, requiring people to remain seated for 60 minutes before landing, patting down my 82-year-old Aunt Millicent’s thighs with the same rigour as everyone else in order to show fairness is a waste of time … and it’s covertly racist. If a series of terrorist attacks on airplanes had been planned only by English, white, middle-aged pianists I would volunteer for a strip-search on every flight I took. It’s not about discrimination or racial profiling, but ensuring essential safety precautions for those on board … of every race and religion.

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[Aviador]

Re: Worldwide | Airport Security, immigration & Border Control

EU divided on full body scanners

EU countries have been debating the use of body scanners at airports, in response to the Christmas Day attempt to blow up a US-bound plane, the BBC reports. The European Commission is holding talks with aviation security experts from the EU member states in Brussels after Italy said it will introduce the scanners for US-bound flights, alongside the Netherlands and the UK. Spain has said it will wait until the Commission has made a decision regarding the scanners, while France and Germany remain uncommitted.

The Commission withdrew a draft EU regulation on body scanners in 2008, following objections from the European Parliament. The 27 EU countries are currently free to use the scanners as long as the security checks do not contradict national or EU law. However, Belgium's Transport Secretary Etiennne Schouppe said the measures were ‘excessive’, adding that security requirements at European airports were already ‘strict enough’.

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[Aviador]

Re: Worldwide | Airport Security, immigration & Border Control

Fighter jets scrambled in plane terror alert

Fighter jets were scrambled to escort a San Francisco-bound flight into an airport.

Yesterday’s alert came on a day disruptive passengers caused two planes to be diverted.

The incidents come amid heightened concern over airline security after a Nigerian man allegedly tried to blow up an Amsterdam-to-Detroit Northwest Airlines plane on Christmas Day.

And police in London were holding three passengers on suspicion of making a bomb threat after removing them from a jet at Heathrow Airport bound for Dubai last night.

Two F-16 fighters were launched at 11.44am local time to catch up with AirTran Airways Flight 39 from Atlanta, Georgia, to San Francisco, California, after a report that an intoxicated passenger had locked himself in a bathroom, the Colorado-based North American Aerospace Defence Command said.

The jets arrived over Colorado Springs Airport as the captain – who AirTran said had decided to divert the plane – landed there around noon, NORAD spokeswoman Stacey Knott said.

Colorado Springs police detained the passenger, who allegedly refused to follow flight crew instructions to take his seat before locking himself in a lavatory.

Dog teams searched the plane and the flight was cleared to continue to San Francisco.

Also yesterday, a Hawaii-bound flight had to change course and land in Los Angeles after a man was accused of harassing a woman. The man was removed from the jet that had left Las Vegas earlier.

The man was interviewed and released after the woman declined to press charges, Sgt Jim Holcomb of Los Angeles airport police said. The exact nature of the disruption or whether the passengers knew each other was not known, he said.

The Hawaiian Airlines flight resumed to Honolulu and arrived three hours late.

It was the second time this week a flight to Hawaii had to change course because of an on-board disruption.

On Wednesday, a Maui-bound Hawaiian Airlines flight from Portland, Oregon, was turned around and escorted by two F-15 military fighters because of an unco-operative passenger. The US attorney’s office on yesterday charged the passenger, Joseph Johnson, 56, of Salem, Oregon, with interfering with a crew member.

Johnson was unhappy he could not stow a carry-on bag under his seat, the FBI said. The pilot grew concerned during the flight because he filled out a comment card with phrases about death and crashing, an FBI agent said in court documents.

Johnson also drew suspicion by holding the bag closely and saying he did not want to stow it where he could not get to it, the agent said.

Johnson, who is not in custody, is expected to appear in court on Monday.

Meanwhile former London student Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, made his first public court appearance in Detroit, Michigan, yesterday, facing charges of trying to ignite a chemical-laden explosive on the Northwest Airlines plane over Detroit.

Authorities say the Nigerian with al Qaida links was travelling from Amsterdam when he tried to destroy the plane carrying nearly 300 people by injecting chemicals into a package of explosives concealed in his underwear.

Judge Mark Randon entered a not guilty plea for Abdulmutallab, who could face up to life in prison on the most serious charge – attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction.

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[Aviador]

Re: Worldwide | Airport Security, immigration & Border Control

The Australian Government has announced that it is to spend $173 Million Australian Dollars on improvements to it's airport security. Much of the money spent will go on new body scanners and areas such as baggage screening will also be enhanced with multiview X-ray machines and bottle scanners capable of detecting liquid explosives.

 

[Aviador]

Re: Airport Security, immigration & Border Control

TSA to swab airline passengers' hands in search for explosives

To the list of instructions you hear at airport checkpoints, add this: "Put your palms forward, please."

The Transportation Security Administration soon will begin randomly swabbing passengers' hands at checkpoints and airport gates to test them for traces of explosives.

Previously, screeners swabbed some carry-on luggage and other objects as they searched for the needle in the security haystack -- components of terrorist bombs in an endless stream of luggage.

But after the Christmas Day attempted bombing of Northwest Flight 253 over Detroit, Michigan, the TSA began a program of swabbing passengers' hands, which could be contaminated by explosive materials, experts say. The TSA will greatly expand the swabbing in the coming weeks, the agency said.

"The point is to make sure that the air environment is a safe environment," Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano told CNN. "We know that al Qaeda [and other] terrorists continue to think of aviation as a way to attack the United States. One way we keep it safe is by new technology [and] random use of different types of technology."

Security experts consulted by CNN said swabbing hands is a good move, and privacy advocates said they support the new swabbing protocols, provided the agency tests only for security-related objects and does not discriminate when it selects people to be tested.

It's a "very good idea," said security expert Tony Fainberg. TSA screeners currently swab luggage handles and parts of bags that are likely be contaminated by human hands, he said, and swabbing a person's hands increases the chances of finding explosive materials. "Looking at the hands means you will probably get a better dose," he said.

Under the new protocols, tests will be conducted at various locations -- including in checkpoint lines, during the screening process and at gates. Newer, more portable machines make it easier to conduct tests away from fixed locations such as the checkpoint.

The TSA has more than 7,000 explosive trace detection (ETD) machines and has purchased 400 additional units with $16 million in federal stimulus money. The president's fiscal 2011 budget calls for $60 million to purchase approximately 800 portable ETD machines.

Napolitano said the tests will not significantly increase wait times at airport checkpoints.

The American Civil Liberties Union has "always supported explosive detection as a good form of security that doesn't really invade privacy," said Jay Stanley, an attorney and privacy expert with the organization.

Stanley said the ACLU is chiefly concerned that the TSA does not discriminate when selecting people for enhanced screening -- something the agency said it does not do -- and that it treat people with dignity.

"We would not want to see it implemented in a discriminatory fashion, for example, in a disproportionate way against Muslims and Arabs or, for example, people with red hair or anything else. Security experts from across the spectrum will tell you that that's not just unfair and unjust and not the American way, it's also a terrible way to do security," Stanley said.

Swabbing also should not be used to test for nonsecurity-related contraband, such as drugs, he said. "Under the Constitution, searches in airports are only for the purpose of protecting the security of airline transportation; they are not general law enforcement stops. And so it wouldn't be permissible for the government to use these trace portal detectors to look for drugs," Stanley said.

The TSA said the machines test only for explosives. It declined to specify which explosives, citing security reasons.

Because some legal substances -- such as fertilizers and heart medicines -- can result in "false positives," Stanley said the ACLU also wants to ensure that people who test positive be treated respectfully.

"It's important that the government treat people who do show up as a positive -- fairly and with dignity -- and not parade them off in handcuffs and treat them as terrorists, but do rational things to investigate what the problem might be," he said.

But swabbing hands does not, by itself, raise civil liberty problems, Stanley said. "There's really not a big privacy interest at stake here," he said. "They are basically looking for particles of explosives, which is not something that people normally have."

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[Aviador]

Re: Airport Security, immigration & Border Control

I don't know what other people think about this but I don't know why they didn't do this sooner if it is proven to be effective. Presumably traces of explosive is likely on a persons hands if they are carrying explosive material on board?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Re: Airport Security, immigration & Border Control

So long as the equipment is sophisticated and sensitive enough to differentiate between fertilizers and heart medicines there should be no objection in principle.

However, I have little confidence in the 'American Way' always treating such innocent travellers with courtesy and respect.

There are many examples of people, some UK citizens, being arrested and taken away in leg irons from US airports merely because the American system failed to show that the person left the USA legally on a previous occasion, only for the fault eventually to lie with the US's own system for recording such movements.

I've seen two British television programmes on this in recent years.

 

[Aviador]

Re: Airport Security, immigration & Border Control

So long as the equipment is sophisticated and sensitive enough to differentiate between fertilizers and heart medicines there should be no objection in principle.

The equipment can differentiate between the two but both can be dangerous substances if they are misused. Heart medicines often contain nitroglycerin - a well known substance that can be dangerous if used in the wrong way. Fertilizers were often used by the IRA. It is up to the authorities there to establish whether traces of such substances are for genuine medical reasons etc.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Re: Airport Security, immigration & Border Control

That's my concern.

You make the point that has been well known by security services and indeed by many others whose work has a bearing on such matters or who are simply interested in such things.

I am not at all confident that in the first instance innocent travellers bearing a trace of suspicious matter on their skin would always be treated courteously and with respect by the US authorities as is suggested would be the case.

 

[Aviador]

Re: Airport Security, immigration & Border Control

That is true. The US authorities have been known to be heavy handed in the past.

The trouble is everyone who has walked through a farmers field in their walking boots, who then decides to wear their boots to fly in will almost certainly alarm such equipment. In my opinion the system will only work in conjunction with some sensible passenger profiling.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Re: Airport Security, immigration & Border Control

Absolutely right about effective passenger profiling.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Re: Airport Security, immigration & Border Control

Heathrow worker warned over body scanner misuse

A Heathrow Airport security guard was given a police warning after he was allegedly caught staring at images of a female colleague in a body scanner.

The 25-year-old worker was quizzed by police over alleged remarks he made to his co-worker after she entered a scanner by mistake.

The incident took place at Terminal 5 on 10 March.

It is believed to be the first time an airport worker has been disciplined for abusing a body scanner.

The scanners show clear outlines of passengers' anatomies.

They were introduced at Heathrow and Manchester airports to check for concealed weapons and explosives following the failed Christmas Day bomb plot by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab to blow up a jet over Detroit in the United States.

Director of Legal Enforcement and the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Susie Uppal, said the incident highlighted the risks to "privacy and respect for human dignity" that are posed by the use of full body scanners.

She said: "It is only through appropriate training and monitoring that we can ensure that the risk of breaches of discrimination and human rights laws by those who take and use the scanned images of passengers are minimised.

"The government has told us very little about what systems are currently in place to ensure that those employed to use the scanners are acting lawfully, with fairness and without discriminating."

She added that the government needed to take urgent and decisive action to ensure that "incidents of this kind are not repeated".

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Police received an allegation regarding an incident that happened at Heathrow Terminal 5 on March 10.
"A first instance harassment warning has been issued to a 25-year-old male."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8584484.stm

One wonders how long it will be before an image finds its way onto the internet despite assurances from airports and government that this would not happen.

The vagaries of human behaviour cannot always be regulated by law or good practice.

 

[Aviador]

Re: Airport Security, immigration & Border Control

Counter -Terrorist Check (CTC) Jobs

Security Clearance Level: CTC

Currently a Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) allows access where there is a specific threat from terrorism to government establishments.

Who needs to have a CTC level clearance?

The purpose of the CTC is to prevent persons who may have connections with terrorist organizations, or who may be vulnerable to pressure from such organizations, from undertaking certain security duties where there is a risk that they could exploit their position to further the aims of a terrorist organization.

What does a CTC check involve?

The CTC check includes a Basic Check and a check against Security Service (MI5) records and police records. Occasionally a candidate may be invited to attend an interview with a DfT security officer.

If you already have a valid CTC clearance, or higher, you are not required to undergo a separate criminal record check.

How long will it take to get a CTC Security Clearance?

A CTC will normally take up to six months and it is usually valid for 3 years.

http://www.certes.co.uk/counter-terrorist-check-jobs/


"The government has told us very little about what systems are currently in place to ensure that those employed to use the scanners are acting lawfully, with fairness and without discriminating."

It would appear that CTC goes much further than CRC and so should prove sufficient, but humon nature may cause problems.

 

[News Guru]

Re: Airport Security, immigration & Border Control

EU: liquids ban to be lifted ‘by 2013’

The European Union said yesterday that it would lift its ban on liquids in air passengers’ hand luggage by 2013 as part of a plan to harmonize and simplify airport security screening procedures that have been a source of confusion and delay for millions of travelers. However, the new system will require European airports to install new technology at checkpoints capable of detecting liquid explosives, the EU Transport Commission said.

The EU, US and many other countries introduced restrictions on liquids and gels in carry-on bags after the liquid explosives bomb plot in 2006. Nearly four years later, the ban - which allows liquids only in amounts below 100 milliliters - remains a source of frustration at airport security checkpoints, where passengers are forced to throw away drink containers, toothpaste, skin creams and often expensive perfume or drinks before boarding planes. In some cases items purchased in airport duty-free shops have been confiscated from passengers transferring through European airports to third countries.

While countries including the US and Canada are also moving toward a relaxation of restrictions on liquids, the EU is the first to set a specific deadline for the change. As a first step toward ending the restrictions, liquids purchased at duty-free shops outside the EU or aboard non-EU airlines will be allowed in hand luggage beginning next year, provided they are sealed within tamper-proof bags and screened before boarding.

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[News Guru]

Re: Airport Security, immigration & Border Control

UK Borders staff to strike next week

Travellers will face chaos next week when UK Border Agency staff responsible for passport control stage a two-day national strike, the Mail reports. Passengers travelling through airports and sea-ports, or on Eurostar, could suffer delays and inconvenience at border control, officials have warned.

Union bosses have confirmed a 48-hour strike will go ahead throughout Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 with the prospect of more action to follow in a dispute over working practices - not about money.

Around 600 immigration workers will be striking at Heathrow, causing long queues and delays for passengers at Britain’s busiest airport. A Border Agency spokesman said: ‘We have contingency plans to minimise the impact of this strike. This will not have an impact on security at the border.’

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[News Guru]

Re: Airport Security, immigration & Border Control

UK refuse to relax liquid ban over lack of screening equipment

The Government has blocked plans to relax the ban on carrying liquids in airline hand luggage after warnings from airlines that the move would trigger chaos at airports, the Guardian reports. Transport secretary Philip Hammond told UK airport owners that the first phase in lifting restrictions will not go ahead as planned on 29 April.

Under the plans, passengers on long-haul flights from outside the EU would have been allowed to carry duty-free liquids on to connecting flights at EU airports. However, the newspaper reports that airlines and airport groups have warned that the change would lead to severe delays because terminals might not have adequate screening equipment, while some countries such as France and Italy are considering ignoring the 29 April deadline.

In a letter to airport owners sent yesterday, Mr Hammond said the ban would remain. He cited security concerns as the reason for the delay. A Government source told the newspaper: ‘The EU regulation will still come into force but, because of current security conditions, we are imposing stricter measures that mean, effectively, there will be no change.’ The new UK security measures are expected to remain in place for at least six months.

The EU now faces calls to issue a new timetable for lifting the ban, given the UK's important role in the transfer passenger market – Heathrow carries around 6 million connecting customers from outside the EU every year.

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[News Guru]

Re: Airport Security

EU insists airport liquids ban must be lifted in 2013

Restrictions on carry-on liquids at all European airports must be relaxed in two years despite the objections of airport operators, the Guardian reports. EU transport commissioner Siim Kallas reaffirmed the April 2013 deadline for lifting the ban on liquids in containers greater than 100ml in an interview with the newspaper at the weekend. He said all EU airports had to meet the deadline, warning: ‘If some countries lift the ban and some do not, it will be disastrous.’

Restrictions on the duty-free purchases of some transfer passengers will be lifted this week at EU airports outside the UK. Transfer passengers on flights originating outside the EU will be allowed to carry duty-free goods on to connecting flights from Friday. But the restriction will remain at UK airports after transport secretary Phillip Hammond ruled out its relaxation for security reasons.

This partial change risks confusing passengers who will be able to carry bottles bought at airport duty-free shops on to connecting flights at Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam airports, but not at Heathrow, for example - although France too has indicated that it might opt out of lifting the ban. The Airport Operators Association (AOA) has said the technology for screening the liquids in carry-on bags is not yet ready, despite screening machines being installed at leading UK airports over the past year.

Mr Kallas told The Guardian newspaper: ‘Some airports are questioning the rationality of lifting the ban because life is easier as it is. Politically, that is unacceptable. I would like airports to make [the] necessary investments so we can lift the ban as agreed for transfer passengers.’

The regulations prevent passengers carrying fluids onto planes unless they are in individual containers of no more than 100ml. Over 2,000 tonnes of liquids are confiscated at Heathrow alone each year. Although scanning technology for suspicious liquids is not yet in place, a spokesman for the Department for Transport said it still intended to lift the restrictions by 2013.

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