Security Roundup

Air Safety Week,  April 2, 2007  

Tags: cargo, security, Transportation Security Administration

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Date: 29-Mar
Incident: During the trials of Australia's facial recognition technology, two
Asian businessmen were able to swap passports and be accepted by the SmartGate
system, said senator Kerry Nettle during a debate on automated e-passport
legislation. The laws allow for the automated "SmartGate" system - which has
already been trialed in Sydney and Melbourne - to be used at some airports for
people with eligible e-passports. SmartGate is expected to speed up the check in
process by removing the need for an officer to check passports and visas
personally. The Australian Customs Service was given almost $62 million over
four years in the 2005-06 budget to roll out the automated system. The enabling
bill passed without amendment.

Date: 27-Mar
Incident: TSA has been criticized for its slow response to tightening cargo
security in a couple of reports from the Government Accountability Office. The
TSA has set a goal of screening 100 percent of what it calls "high risk cargo"
(packages from unknown shippers). The Department of Homeland Security will test
air cargo screening technologies this spring at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky
(CVG) International Airport in a $30 million pilot program. A quarter of the air
cargo hauled by U.S. carriers goes onto passenger planes but less than 20
percent of that cargo is screened. A bill pending by Rep. Edward Markey, D-
Mass., would require the screening of all cargo on passenger jets by 2009.
Airlines oppose the bill, saying it would be too costly and cause operational
problems. The CVG test is designed to test the volumetric capacity of screening
limitations i.e. to what extent the system would be slowed by screening.

Date: 26-Mar
Incident: A Continental Express jet was diverted to Corpus Christi International
Airport late Monday night because of an unruly passenger. A passenger aboard
Flight 2115 between Monterrey, Mexico and Houston, Texas had too much to drink.
After a physical altercation the individual made comments serious enough cause
the flight crew to land the plane. The flight track from FlightAware.com shows
the plane was just southwest of Corpus Christi at 27,000 feet when the pilot
quickly descended to CCIA. After the plane landed, federal authorities arrested
Eduardo Roberto Bolado, 59, a Mexican citizen. He was charged with interfering
with a flight crew.

Date: 25-Mar
Incident: Apparently it is entirely unclear who is responsible for screening
workers at Orlando International Airport. Five agencies, including the TSA, play
a role in the airport's security. A TSA spokeswoman says the TSA has overall
responsibility for each airport's security plan, but claims that airport
management is responsible for physically controlling access to secured areas.
Sounds impractical.

Date: 24-Mar
Incident: The TSA each month confiscates liquor worth up to $200,000 from
travelers passing through South Florida's three major airports. To get on a
flight legitimately, liquor must be stowed in checked luggage. "It varies month
to month. But it has steadily increased," a TSA spokesman said. He added that
finding and removing alcohol from bags leads to delays and longer lines. The
liquor is destroyed.

Date: 23-Mar
Incident: Authorities quarantined a US Airways flight at Charlotte-Douglas
International Airport after a passenger claimed that he had smallpox, but health
officials said that he had no symptoms of the disease. A spokesman for the
Mecklenburg County Health Department, Rick Christenbury said that "there's no
evidence of smallpox." Carolinas Medical Center, where the passengers were
tested, said that the man does not have the disease. He is assumed to be
suffering from hypochondria.

Date: 23-Mar
Incident: TSA officials want to have their uniformed officers take over from
private security companies the job of administering the first ticket and
personal identification check, before travelers proceed to TSA security
checkpoints. To be implemented nationally, the move would require adding as many
as 1,400 TSA officers. Currently the agency's uniformed workforce is legally
capped at 45,000 screeners. Many observers see the proposed change as just
further evidence that security is in a state of fluctuating flux.

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