Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

Step-on scanner lets air passengers keep shoes on
12 Oct 2008 15:24:00 GMT
Source: Reuters
LOD, Israel, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Israel has introduced a step-on scanner that spares airline travellers the nuisance of having to remove their shoes so they can be X-rayed for hidden weapons, though the new device cannot yet sniff out explosives.

Only the shoes of passengers deemed suspicious by Ben-Gurion Airport staff are removed, X-rayed and swabbed for bomb residues. Most people can now keep their shoes on.

Installed next to the walk-through scanners at Ben-Gurion, "MagShoe" announces within two seconds whether the footwear of the passenger standing on it contains unusual metal that might be a knife for a hijacking or a bomb detonator part. "This innovation brings enormous logistical value as it significantly cuts down the discomfort and delays associated with standard shoe searches," said Nissim Ben-Ezra, security technologies manager for Israel's Airports Authority.

But he said MagShoe must be used in conjunction with other precautions, especially as it would not spot hidden explosives -- a major concern after the botched 2001 "shoe bombing" by al Qaeda sympathiser Richard Reid aboard a Paris-Miami flight. A bomb-sniffing version of the suitcase-sized MagShoe is in the works, an Israeli security source said. The current version, produced by Israeli firm Ido Security Ltd., costs about $5,000.

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration is assessing MagShoe's feasibility for American airports and several other countries have expressed an interest, the Israeli source said. (Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Louise Ireland)


AlertNet news is provided by

Email this article       Send comments

NGO latest

•  CWS Emergency appeal update: 2008 U.S. hurricanes
CWS

•  MSF protests comments by French Foreign Minister in Jerusalem
MSF International

•  AmeriCares Sends Airlift of Medical Relief to Hurricane-Stricken Haiti
AmeriCares

•  CWS Emergency appeal update: 2008 U.S. hurricanes
CWS

•  In storm-hit Galveston, nearly every yard is caked in toxic sludge
CWS

MORE >>

Latest news

•  Rebels say 11 killed in Darfur militia ambush

•  Step-on scanner lets air passengers keep shoes on

•  FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Oct 12

•  NATO not losing Afghan war, commander says

•  PREVIEW-AIDS vaccine focus shifts after disappointments

MORE >>
AlertNet news is provided by

Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-10-11T210714Z_01_JER100_RTRIDSP_2_ISRAEL-CLASHES_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JER100.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-10-11T165954Z_01_JER07_RTRIDSP_2_ISRAEL-CLASH_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JER07.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-10-11T165900Z_01_JER08_RTRIDSP_2_ISRAEL-CLASH_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JER08.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-10-11T140830Z_01_JER03_RTRIDSP_2_ISRAEL-CLASHES_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JER03.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-10-11T140511Z_01_JER04_RTRIDSP_2_ISRAEL-CLASHES_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/JER04.htm

Israeli border police arrest an Israeli demonstrator following clashes between Jews and Arabs in Israel's northern coastal city of Acre October 11, 2008. Rioters in northern Israel torched two houses and ...



Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Sun Oct 12 15:57:04 2008