Security Roundup

Date Incident 17 Jan The Registered Traveler program at Reagan National and Dulles International airports will be operated by Verified Identity Pass. The company was awarded the contract on 16 Jan by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates Reagan National and Dulles International...

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Date	Incident
17 Jan	The Registered Traveler program at Reagan National and Dulles International airports will be operated by Verified Identity Pass. The company was awarded the contract on 16 Jan by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates Reagan National and Dulles International airports. The company's program is called CLEAR. The service will start in the Spring and, like all such programs, will involve passengers offering up much personal information (iris scans, fingerprints, personal identifying data) plus a fee ( http://www.flyclear.com). Unfortunately, CLEAR clients must still put their bags through X-ray machines, take off their shoes and remove their laptop computers from their luggage. According to the TSA, about 65,000 frequent travelers participate in such programs.
16 Jan	Two baggage handlers at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York were arrested on the weekend and charged with stealing over $250,000 worth of diamonds and other jewelry. A 51-year-old worker and his supervisor are charged with grand larceny and possession of stolen property. The gems were reportedly stolen from a container marked "high value" in transit through the airport from Switzerland to Brazil. The jewelry was found in a locker inside the American Airlines terminal. Police say the supervisor broke the seals on the package, and gave three boxes of jewelry to the other worker to hide. Each is being held on $5,000 bail, and faces up to 15 years in prison.
16 Jan	A QANTAS aircraft was targeted by laser beams in the Healesville area, north of Melbourne.. The incident was reported by the pilots of the international flight. A high-powered type laser device was being used in an attempt to dazzle the cockpit's occupants.
15 Jan	Flight AP6875 of Italian Airline Air One was enroute between the Italian regional airport Lampedusa and Palermo, Italy when the crew were informed of a bomb threat when not far short of destination. The aircraft was filled mainly with police officers accompanying illegal immigrants being repatriated. No device was found in the 737 upon landing Palermo.
15 Jan	A deportee ran amok during the taxi-out of GulfAir flight GF2 (Heathrow to Bahrein). Following his attempt to invade the cockpit of the A340-300, the aircraft was returned to the terminal and the Pakistani man was detained. Meanwhile, an aircraft of South African Airways was grounded in Bamako Mali after 85 deportees (expelled Malians) damaged the aircraft's interior severely whilst it was enroute from Mozambique. The crew told of a violent dispute with South-African police officers aboard the plane. The police were allegedly activating "electric belts" being compulsorily worn by the prisoners - in an attempt to subdue them. The deportees were protesting that they were not able to bring their possessions with them. It appears to be a repeat of a similar Air France aircraft trashing experience during another such deportation in 2000.
14 Jan	KLM Flight KL671 (Amsterdam to Montreal) deteriorated into bedlam when a fight broke out after takeoff at around 1530 local between groups of passengers disputing "ownership" of a seat row. The dispute deteriorated into greater violence when one individual's weapon of choice became a bottle. Police met the MD-11 on arrival in Montreal ... and sorted out the protagonists.
14 Jan	A police bomb squad recently blew up what it believes was an explosive device found near a hangar at Orlando International Airport  An Orlando police officer found the suspicious device near the road outside the Continental hangar on Tradeport Drive. The maintenance hangar was evacuated. Tradeport Drive was closed off for some hours while the arson and bomb squads worked to secure the bomb. Demo experts eventually detonated it with a controlled explosion. Investigators say they have no idea who may have placed the device there. It was distant from the terminal and no flights were disrupted by the incident.
12 Jan	Frustrated passengers smashed ticket counters and threw objects at airline staff at Argentina's main airport of Buenos Aires after the country's flagship airline canceled international flights for a second day. Passengers angry at delays caused by a baggage handlers strike and a walkout by ticket counter workers damaged ticket counters and broke glass panes in the main hall of the Aerolineas Argentinas terminal. They shouted at Aerolineas Argentinas employees and threw objects at them. The strike for higher wages had sparked delays at the airport in a Buenos Aires suburb since Friday. Several thousand passengers were stranded when Aerolineas Argentinas canceled its flights abroad, however management then appear to have gone into hiding, directly leading to the passenger riots.
12 Jan	A congressional report has concluded that a TSA Web site designed to help travelers remove their names from aviation watch lists was so riddled with security holes that hackers could easily have stolen personal information from scores of passengers. The report also found that the TSA conducted little oversight of the Web site. The Agency has claimed it was not aware of any travelers who used the site and became victims of identity theft. Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the committee, said in a statement. "The handling of this Web site goes against all good government contracting standards." The lists have been frequently criticized for their inaccuracies. Prominent Americans, including members of Congress, have been singled out for questioning and searches at airports because their names were similar to names on the lists. The TSA created a redress procedure three years ago but soon began seeking bids from contractors to build, host and maintain "a secure Web-based system" to handle the requests. A graduate student at Indiana University recently discovered that it was not secure and after this revelation was "blogged", the TSA moved the website to a secure government domain. (see trip.dhs.gov)
12 Jan	The U.S. Government is moving forward with a law that requires U.S. citizens to carry new, DHS-approved driver's licenses. Airlines say the new rules have the potential to be "hugely problematic." Although full implementation of the law won't be until 2017, residents of states that do not comply with DHS requirements for the tamper-proof IDs will be unable to use their licenses to board commercial airplanes or enter federal buildings as of May 11. The government had promised to issue waivers to states who agree to comply, and some have announced their intent to issue the new secure licenses. But 17 states have refused, citing privacy and cost concerns.
12 Jan	TSA has advised that it is developing a security directive following concerns that some airlines are not vetting their passengers against the TSA watch-lists, including "No Fly", with sufficient care. It's understood that, inter alia, the directive will address guidance on name comparison techniques to be used in the vetting process. It's known that alliterative spelling is used in many anglicized interpretations of Arabic Middle Eastern names (i.e. spelt as it sounds) and leads to inaccuracies and duplications in lists.
12 Jan	Immigration authorities are investigating a flight school near San Diego, CA on suspicion of sponsoring student visas while lacking Federal Aviation Administration certification. Anglo-American Flight School at Gillespie Field in El Cajon had its flight and repair logs seized by Federal agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The 15-year-old school caters primarily to students from Europe and India. The inquiry is focusing on technical violations of immigration rules that allow schools to provide documents to foreigners for permission to come to the United States as students.
07 Jan	According to a recent investigation by Consumer Reports, cockpit doors that pop open during flight remain a major weakness in airport security. The magazine and a union representing airline pilots support adding a secondary cockpit barrier on every plane. United & Northwest Airlines are committed to voluntarily installing barriers. However Congress is presently looking at a bill that, if passed, would make cockpit barriers a federal requirement for US registered airliners.
05 Jan	TSA officials in Washington, D.C., refused pay for security at Yakima Air Terminal (McAllister Field, Washington State) after learning that the private security officers used by the airport lacked the power to arrest. Although Transportation Security Administration personnel are still checking bags and passengers at the airport's security checkpoint, private armed guards posted there for the past five years were removed on Jan. 4. Security has since been limited to a "timed response program," according to airport assistant manager Jerry Kilpatrick, which essentially means airport staff must phone police. Yakima airport security had been handled by Corporate Security Enforcement, a local company that had five guards on rotation for two daily eight-hour shifts. "If the airport wants to have armed security without police powers, they can do that, but the fact is, they won't get reimbursed by the TSA," said TSA spokesman Nico Melendez. Armed security would cost $133,000 a year and the airport management says it can't afford to pay that on its own. Meanwhile, off-duty Yakima police officers have offered their services. The Yakima Police Patrolmen's Association said up to 75 officers so far are more than willing to work at whatever price the airport is willing to pay.
03 Jan	Homeland Security has boosted its 2008 fiscal budget for airport explosive detection by 7%. It has allocated $544 million for explosive-detection systems. Of that figure, $89 million will fund next-generation systems in small and medium-sized airports.