Travel Security Update.

For more safety & security news, data and analysis, please go to: http://www.airguideonline.com/professional.htm Aug 14, 2006

UK Says Terrorism Attempt Likely As Delays Continue. British Home Secretary John Reid warned on Sunday that another attempted terrorist attack on Britain was "highly likely" after police said they had thwarted a plot to blow up trans-atlantic airliners. Reid said at least four plots had been thwarted since July last year when four Islamist suicide bombers killed 52 people on London buses and trains, and he did not deny media claims that police were hunting up to 25 terrorist cells in Britain. Police said on Thursday they had foiled a plot by would-be suicide bombers to blow up simultaneously up to 10 airliners flying to the United States. Twenty-four people were arrested. Disclosure of the alleged plot to smuggle bombs on aircraft disguised as drinks immediately brought drastic new security measures and chaos at airports on both sides of the Atlantic. Aug 13, 2006

Current airport security typically involves a five-layered process of screening checked-in luggage, with multiple X-rays and CT scans. That is too unwieldy and time-consuming to apply to passengers and their hand luggage. Instead travelers pass through a metal detector gateway and their bags through an X-ray machine, with a random sample also checked for explosives residue using trace particle detectors. Aug 11, 2006

Delays As UK Flights Return To Normal. Airlines said flights were returning to normal on Friday but warned of more cancellations and further delays at UK airports after a foiled bomb plot sparked a security alert and stranded thousands of passengers. Airport operator BAA said a ban on short-haul flights coming into Heathrow had been lifted and the airport was "busy but calm". British Airways said about 70 percent of its short-haul services from Heathrow were expected to operate on Friday, a day after canceling all short-haul flights to and from the airport. Most long-haul flights from Heathrow were operating as normal, except for six services to the United States, the airline said, but warned of delays at Heathrow and Gatwick airports. Aug 11, 2006

In addition to the ban on liquids and gels, including such things as toothpaste, shampoo, perfume and hair gel, DHS plans a number of other steps to increase aviation security, "some of them visible and some of them not visible," Chertoff said. He noted that federal air marshals are being sent to the UK "to provide expanded mission coverage" for UK-US flights, while in a flashback to the immediate post-9/11 environment the governors of California and Massachusetts activated National Guard units to assist with airport security. Aug 11, 2006

Jane's analyst Yates said new technology is becoming available, such as quadrupole resonance scanning developed by Australian-based QR Sciences, which uses radio waves to stimulate certain atoms such as nitrogen, present in explosives. Its scanner, with a traffic-light display to indicate all-clear, further investigation or danger, has already been trialled internationally, including at Manchester Airport. Rolling out such technology universally would require time and a huge reallocation of investment which until now has gone into other areas, such as deployment of sky marshals on planes. In the meantime, Yates said he expected the current restrictions on hand baggage to continue, at least for flights into and out of Britain, possibly for months. A permanent ban on hand luggage would be untenable, not least because of the risk of theft from luggage carousels. But not everyone rules out such radical solutions. Aug 11, 2006

UK terror plot arrest total rises to 24; US implements new security measures. UK officials late yesterday raised the number of arrests in the airline terror bombing conspiracy to 24 from 21 reported early in the day.Official statements remained sketchy amid reports that the plotters intended to blow up as many as 10 US commercial aircraft en route from the UK to the US. Authorities added that all those arrested were UK citizens and said most were of South Asian descent and several of the suspects reportedly traveled to Pakistan recently. Aug 11, 2006

US airlines offer measured response to terror threat. Air Transport Assn. President and CEO James May said at a Washington news conference yesterday that US airlines do not plan to seek financial aid from the government for expenses associated with delays and increased security as a result of Thursday's events. Aug 11, 2006

US authorities have banned travelers from carrying liquids and other gel-based products onto planes, a step also taken by some Asian airlines on Friday for flights to Britain and the United States. British airports went further by banning hand luggage altogether and insisted even baby milk be tasted by an accompanying adult before being allowed on board. An al Qaeda plot to blow up airliners with liquid explosives was uncovered as far back as 1995, but authorities have never previously banned the carrying of fluids onto planes. That could change, perhaps for good, with the uncovering of this week's suspected Islamist militant plot to blow up planes with chemical bombs disguised as drinks. Though police have given no further details, security analysts said there were indications they were concerned about militants setting off a liquid explosive such as nitroglycerin with some form of non-metal detonator, or combining otherwise harmless liquids on board a plane to produce an explosive mix. Aug 11, 2006

US President George Bush said the uncovering of the alleged plot is "a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy" and asked for airline passengers' "patience" as security is heightened at airports. "Travelers are going to be inconvenienced as a result of the steps we've taken," Bush warned. Aug 11, 2006

US airports are on Orange or high alert for all flights and on Red alert--the highest state of readiness--for flights arriving from the UK. Airports worldwide have been told to implement tougher security for US-bound flights. US officials are most concerned by the alleged terrorists' apparent plans to hide liquid explosives in carry-on baggage to detonate inflight. "In light of the nature of the liquid explosive devices which were designed by the plotters, we are temporarily banning all liquids as carry-ons in aircraft cabins," US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said. He added that the ban will remain in effect indefinitely "to give us time to make adjustments in our current screening tactics, based upon what we learn from this investigation concerning the nature of the devices that these individuals were constructing." Aug 11, 2006

Trans-Atlantic Airliner Bombings Were 'Days Away'. Suspected British suicide bombers were just days away from simultaneous attacks on trans-Atlantic airliners when officials said they foiled what one senior police commander called "mass murder on an unimaginable scale". British police arrested 24 people over a plot to smuggle bombs on to aircraft disguised as drinks, and new tough security measures for air travel remained in place on Friday. Airports were jammed on Thursday and scores of flights were canceled. Aug 11, 2006

Airlines around the world said they will comply with new security measures mandated by DHS for US-bound flights, including a requirement to screen all passenger footwear and a ban on liquids and gels in carry-on baggage. Chertoff said the arrests in London had "significantly disrupted the threat but we cannot be sure that the threat has been entirely eliminated." He added that the arrested suspects were in the "final stages" of planning for the attacks. Aug 10, 2006

Airlines Ban Hand Luggage From UK. Airlines banned hand luggage on flights out of the United Kingdom on Thursday and warned of massive delays after British police said they had disrupted a plot to blow up aircraft in mid-flight. All carriers, including British Airways, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, stepped up security on news of the plot to smuggle bombs on board a flight between Britain and the United States. Passengers were banned from carrying any hand luggage on board flights, including mobile phones and handbags, airlines and airport authorities said. All liquids were banned on board except for essential medicines. Milk for babies would be allowed on board but must be tasted by the accompanying passenger, UK airport operator BAA said in a statement. Aug 10, 2006

DHS raised its threat level to Orange, or high, for "all commercial aviation operating in or destined for the US" and banned passengers from carrying any bottles or containers holding liquid substances aboard flights except for prescription medicine and baby formula for people traveling with infants. Aug 10, 2006

French Minister Says Plotters Likely Pakistani. The perpetrators of a foiled attempt to blow up airliners flying from Britain to the United States are likely to be of Pakistani origin, France's Interior Minister said on Thursday. British police arrested 21 people in connection with the plot on Thursday. Sarkozy also said that France would order full searches of all hand luggage on flights to the United States, Britain and Israel as part of increased security after the foiled plot. He said France would leave its current security alert level at red, the second highest, and that security on the Eurostar rail link between France and Britain would be increased. Passengers Stay Calm Despite Chaos At UK Airports. Chaos reigned at British airports crammed with travelers on Thursday as airlines canceled flights and brought in drastic security measures to thwart what police said was a plot to blow up several aircraft in flight. Aug 10, 2006

Seeking Mega-Attack, Militants Again Target Planes. A plot to blow up several airliners flying between Britain and the United States highlights militants' long-held obsession with planes and their hunger for a mega-attack to eclipse September 11 Uncovered by British police and intelligence, the plot triggered the highest security alerts on both sides of the Atlantic since the 2001 attacks. Washington said the operation was in some ways suggestive of al Qaeda, which specializes in simultaneous mass-casualty strikes but has failed in the last five years to come anywhere close to its September 11 toll of nearly 3,000 victims. Aug 10, 2006

US Heightens Air Security After Bomb Plot. The US government heightened security on passenger planes and barred air travelers from carrying liquids on Thursday after Britain said it foiled a plot to blow up flights to the United States. US officials said the aim was to blow up the planes in flight. One official said there were no signs the attacks were directed at any one city, but they might have taken place on flights heading to major US cities. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said al Qaeda might have been involved. The Department of Homeland Security said it took the unprecedented step of raising the threat level for commercial flights originating in the United Kingdom to "severe" or red, its highest level. Aug 10, 2006