Air travelers in the US can expect to be monitored, probed -- and hopefully protected -- by a handful of new security technologies, from chemical-sniffing detectors to computer cameras that scan crowds.
The devices could be installed in relatively short order at airports and on planes, aiming to keep hijackers and weapons from getting on board, and disarming those who do, experts say.
PHOTO: AP
Fliers could pay for the measures with a US$30 to US$50 a ticket surcharge, one expert estimated.
Agencies that handle security at airports, including the Federal Aviation Administration, US Customs Service and the US Immigration and Naturalization Service, had little to say about technology upgrades under consideration.
But experts point to a combination of devices that screen luggage, clothes and criminal backgrounds.
The first line of defense is aimed at keeping weapons and explosives off planes, said Rick Charles, who heads the aviation program at Georgia State University.
Travelers can expect more frequent searches of luggage, documents and clothes with particle detectors that can find traces of drugs or explosives and, in some cases, pathogens used in biological warfare, he said. Authorities will also probably call for more explosives-detecting resonance scanners that can hone in on tough-to-find plastic explosives, said Billie Vincent, president of Aerospace Services International and the FAA's former head of security.
Machines that can find bombs and guns provide no defense against passengers bent on destruction by other means -- such as the suicide-minded groups that hijacked the four airliners on Sept. 11.
To screen passengers, aviation authorities are considering biometric scanners that check identities against criminal records and terrorist watch lists, Charles said.
``Biometrics attempts to keep the wrong people off airplanes, instead of trying to keep bombs and weapons off airplanes,'' said Charles.
Face-recognition systems show promise in matching terrorists' mug shots -- garnered from files of the FBI, CIA or Interpol -- to faces roaming airport crowds. One such system was installed in June at Iceland's Keflavik International Airport. Others are under consideration here.
Biometric systems are already in use by Customs and the INS. The INS' INSPASS system uses hand-geometry scanning kiosks to permit entry to registered travelers. And Customs' new border-crossing cards for Mexicans store fingerprint data. Charles said fingerprint identity checks may also appear at check-in counters, where travelers' names and thumbprints are checked against watch lists and criminal records.
But without a US criminal record -- or at least a photo and some background information -- a terrorist will not be intercepted by a biometric security system.
``What if he's not in anybody's database? He'll walk right through,'' said Robert Mannal, of KPMG's information risk management office.
Security measures being proposed for aircraft themselves take this reality into consideration.
In Cleveland, ADR Investigation and Protection Corp. is discussing installing closed circuit television systems on the jetliners of three airlines, said company president Lex Rosenbaum. He would not name the carriers.
The systems would allow pilots to keep an eye on the passengers while sending streaming video to ground stations, where it could be monitored or stored for a later investigation, Rosenbaum said.
Experts stressed, however, that high-tech systems are merely aids for security personnel whose duties and powers also stand to be augmented.
``Most of this is feel-good stuff,'' Vincent said. ``It avoids taking the hard measures you need to do the job.'' He favors training pilots to handle sky marshal duties, giving them arms and discretion to kill a would-be hijacker before a passenger jet can be converted into a flying bomb.
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
DRONE CENTRAL: Taiwan aims to become Asia’s democratic hub for drones, with most exports focused on high-quality military-grade models, an official said Taiwan’s drone industry is expected to expand significantly by 2030, producing 100,000 units per month and exporting half of them, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Current drone production capacity is about 15,000 units per month, but the industry can quickly scale up as demand increases, Industrial Development Administration Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s drone output grew 2.5-fold last year to NT$12.9 billion (US$408.3 million) under a government program to develop the uncrewed vehicle sector, he said. The Executive Yuan in October last year approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion into domestic production of uncrewed aerial
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-hour standoff. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 eventually left the restricted waters, 26.6 nautical miles (49.2km) west of the Pratas Islands, at 5pm yesterday, the CGA said. Lying approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than
WARNING: China should stop engaging in actions that undermine regional peace and stability, as it would only build resentment among people across the Strait, the CGA said China has deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard and other vessels in waters from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and the western Pacific since US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met in Beijing, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday. “In this part of the world, #China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the #StatusQuo & threatening regional peace & stability,” Wu wrote on X. In a separate post, he said Beijing was coercing Taiwan’s maritime domain, calling it illegal and provocative, after the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) expelled a
RSS