Travel Safety & Security Update June 2005

FAA report blames controller union for scheduling problems. A Federal Aviation Administration report blames the New York controllers union for poor scheduling practices and high overtime costs, according to media reports. The two sides will negotiate a new contract this summer. Union officials said they disagreed with the report and said the FAA was "scapegoating" responsibility for the problems. Jun 3, 2005

Homeland Security to equip LAX with trace detection technology. Security upgrades at Los Angeles International Airport will include trace detection technology able to detect explosives from microscopic particles, according to Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff. Chertoff took a daylong tour of the airport on Thursday, the Los Angeles Daily News reports. Jun 3, 2005

U.S. Transit passengers should give themselves plenty of time when connecting to another international flight through an American gateway airport. All luggage will come off the inbound aircraft and you will need to collect it and dispatch it again once through the various welcoming committees. If it has been tagged properly the airline staff will quickly take it off you and send it on its way. You have to pass through both immigration and customs and the Department of Homeland Security before presenting yourself at the normal outbound check which now includes taking one's shoes off. Allow for an hour at least and don't lock your case or it could be forced open. Visas are not needed for transit passengers so if you have one don't waste your time filling in the white sheet. You need to complete the green one. Confusing. Yes. But the authorities are mystified too! Readers might also like to know that US airlines are now not allowed to have curtains dividing up the various areas on the aircraft. No more discretion with the special VIP passenger in first. Everyone can see everything. Drinks can be served to passengers before takeoff but this must be done with plastic cups. Once in the air glass goblets are allowed. A further security measure is to block the passageway to the cockpit with a catering trolley when that door is open. On the face of it a bright idea but hardly practical. Of course the cockpit could be sealed but not all aircraft have dedicated crew rest rooms or a flight deck galley. http://www.dhs.gov Jun 3, 2005

Security personnel may miss rare targets, study finds. A study funded by the Transportation Security Administration found when targets of a search rarely show up, they are more likely to escape detection, the Boston Globe reports. Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital, which conducted the study, plan to work with TSA employees to determine if there is a real problem. Jun 2, 2005

Security officials reconsider proposal for passenger lists. U.S. officials are considering alternatives to a proposal that would have required airlines to submit passenger lists an hour before a flight departs for the U.S., the Washington Post reports. One option is to allow carriers to send passenger names to security officials as each passenger checks in. Airlines had complained about the original proposal, claiming it would disrupt flight schedules. Jun 1, 2005