airport security

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Airport to Sort Travelers Into Fast, Slow Lanes

Signs, borrowed from slopes, aim to let fliers choose most appropriate page

(Newser) - Travelers using Chicago’s Midway Airport are finding a curious new addition to security lines, the Tribune reports—ski-slope-like signs meant to funnel travelers into different lines based on how quickly they're likely to be able to speed through. They're color coded to the “difficulty level” of each option:...

UK Airports to Scan Faces
 UK Airports to Scan Faces 
Apr 25, 2008 12:18 PM CDT

UK Airports to Scan Faces

Technology will match passengers' mugs to biometric passports

(Newser) - New facial recognition technology in which computers scan faces and match them to information encoded in biometric passports will be used at UK airports for the first time this summer, the Guardian reports. Authorities say the machines will outperform humans and improve security, but critics fear the technology will cause...

LAX Readies 'Strip Search' Scans
LAX Readies 'Strip Search' Scans
Apr 18, 2008 9:59 AM CDT

LAX Readies 'Strip Search' Scans

'Total body imaging' devices look under clothes for weapons

(Newser) - New technology will allow screeners at Los Angeles International Airport to scan passengers with a device that effectively looks beneath their clothes, the LA Times reports. The “whole body imaging” machines are drawing mixed reviews—a TSA spokesman praised the "brand-new security tool," but an ACLU rep...

Feds Bust Plane Passenger With Bomb Parts in Baggage

Fellow Orlando fliers not at risk: authorities

(Newser) - A Jamaican national was arrested after checking a bag at Orlando International Airport that contained the makings of pipe bombs, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The FBI detained Kevin Brown, 32, after a TSA “behavior specialist” spotted him during check-in yesterday. He was charged with attempting to carry an explosive...

TSA Changes Rules on Nipple Rings
TSA Changes
Rules on
Nipple Rings
Mar 29, 2008 6:23 AM CDT

TSA Changes Rules on Nipple Rings

Airport security will settle for 'visual inspection,' not removal

(Newser) - Airport security guards who forced a woman to remove her nipple rings with pliers were following procedures, according to the TSA—but they agree it's time for some new procedures, CNN reports. Pierced passengers pulled over for inspection will in future be told they have the option of showing the...

Woman Forced to Remove Nipple Rings at Airport

She demands apology, threatens lawsuit

(Newser) - A Texas woman is calling for an apology after airport security in Lubbock forced her to pull out her nipple piercings with a pair of pliers before boarding her plane, the AP reports. When her chest set off the security wand, Mandi Hamlin offered to show a female guard her...

Dead Rats Stink Up Orlando Airport

Persistent rodent problem leaves officials and passengers feeling ill

(Newser) - Dead rats are stinking up a portion of Orlando International Airport, and the smell has workers crying foul. Construction crews renovating gates earlier this month scared the rodents into the airport, the Orlando Sentinel reports; exterminators followed, and after rats died in walls and ceilings the stench sent workers and...

Travel Costs Rise, But for What?
Travel Costs Rise, But for What?
OPINION
Feb 13, 2008 12:30 PM CST

Travel Costs Rise, But for What?

2008 is the 'year of the fee,' but one writer demands more in return

(Newser) - We can't duck travel fees imposed by air carriers, hotels, and Uncle Sam, so let's demand more in return, Christopher Elliott writes on MSNBC. Airlines are adding $25 baggage fees and "probably illegal" fuel surcharges, and the TSA will add a “temporary” bump in security fees—so can't...

Europe Moves to Fingerprint Travelers

Privacy advocates fret, but US, Japan already have similar policies

(Newser) - Just as Washington is pushing Europe to increase security, the European Parliament is considering fingerprinting every international traveler who enters or leaves the continent, the Washington Post reports. “It’s the only way to be really sure about identifying people,” an official said. The US backs the measure,...

Bush Demands Europe Step Up Flight Security

EU leaders accuse US of 'blackmail,' call requests 'absurd'

(Newser) - In a move some EU officials call blackmail, the Bush administration is demanding that EU members implement a wide range of new air security measures. The US wants American air marshals on all inbound flights, an online screening permit process for all US-bound passengers, and personal information on anyone flying...

Improved Security Lost in 'Maze'
Improved Security Lost in 'Maze'
Feb 8, 2008 5:22 PM CST

Improved Security Lost in 'Maze'

Post-9/11 promises haven't translated into better airport security systems

(Newser) - Whiz-bang technology that would keep terrorists from destroying airplanes, promised after the 9/11 attacks, hasn't materialized, the Washington Post reports. The various players blame each other for bureaucratic, legal, and market failures. One security-industry exec calls the Transportation Security Administration "a maze"; TSA officials blame firms for not delivering...

Travelers Rage Over Seized Laptops
Travelers Rage Over Seized Laptops
Feb 7, 2008 12:18 PM CST

Travelers Rage Over Seized Laptops

Government equates computers with bags; civil-liberties groups disagree

(Newser) - US border agents tell travelers there’s no difference between a laptop and a suitcase; both are fair game for searches. People crossing into the US have found their electronics confiscated, and their data copied, the Washington Post reports, all without explanation. “The government is going well beyond its...

Mont. Governor Calls for Rally Against Real ID

Asks 17 other states to 'join me in resisting'

(Newser) - Montana's governor firmly rejected new federal ID legislation yesterday, urging 17 other states to join him in battling the DHS Real ID program, which requires citizens to reapply for ID, Wired reports. "If we stand together either DHS will blink or Congress will have to act to avoid havoc...

UK Air Travelers Allowed 2 Bags (Some Airports)

Baggage rules relaxed at Heathrow, not Gatwick, others

(Newser) - Confusion may be the rule for air travelers in the UK, where some—but not all—airports have been allowed to drop a one-cabin-bag-per-passenger limit. Passengers at Heathrow and 21 other airports will be permitted to carry two bags for the first time since the tightening of airport security in...

Want to Make Your Flight? Chill Out
Want to Make Your Flight? Chill Out
Dec 18, 2007 1:05 PM CST

Want to Make Your Flight? Chill Out

40 airports single out nervous, twitchy travelers for searches

(Newser) - Nervous fliers, beware: Some 600 security guards at 40 US airports are scanning crowds for passengers who exhibit unusual stress or fear. The federal program aims to create “a new layer of unpredictability” at checkpoints, says the TSA administrator, but has civil rights advocates crying foul and security experts...

UK Probe Finds 6K Illegals in Security Jobs

Home Office takes heat over 11K total given clearance

(Newser) - UK Home Secretary Jacqui Smith came under fire today after an investigation revealed that as many as 11,000 illegal immigrants are employed in or have been cleared for security jobs, including one man who guarded the PM's car. Of those workers, 6,653 were found to have no permission...

Fliers Thankful for Few Delays
Fliers Thankful for Few Delays
Nov 22, 2007 8:37 AM CST

Fliers Thankful for Few Delays

Planning and good weather ease holiday congestion

(Newser) - The Thanksgiving travel rush was smoother than expected, reports the New York Times, thanks to good weather, added airline agents, and the federal government giving   commercial airliners access to military airspace for the holiday. Many travelers helped reduce the crush Wednesday, the busiest single travel day of the year,...

Airport Screeners Miss Bombs
Airport Screeners Miss Bombs
Nov 14, 2007 8:29 PM CST

Airport Screeners Miss Bombs

Investigators smuggle in explosives in undercover test

(Newser) - Airport screeners fared poorly in an undercover test in which government investigators smuggled liquid explosives and detonators past checkpoints, the AP reports. As a troubling bonus, the investigators learned how to make the explosives on the internet and bought the parts for less than $150, showing that would-be terrorists could...

Tests Confirm: Airport Security Isn't Working

Screeners missed up to ¾ of dummy bombs in TSA simulation

(Newser) - You might have hoped interminable lines and indignities of shoe removal might have contributed to safer airplanes, but a study by the Transportation Security Administration shows screeners missing fake bombs at an alarming rate. USA Today obtained a copy of the classified report, whose rate of failure stunned officials: at...

Body-Imaging Scanner Enters Airport Testing

Possible metal-detector replacement has privacy advocates wary

(Newser) - The federal government today begins testing a device that could replace metal detectors and pat-downs at airports around the country, the AP reports. The scanners produce full-body images of passengers, sans clothing. Privacy advocates are feeling sheepish. “These are virtual strip searches,” one said. “If Playboy published...

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