ARGENTINA

On Tuesday (10/01), a security alert was declared on board an Aerolineas Argentinas B735, operating between Neuquen (NQN) and El Calafate (FTE) when a message about a bomb was discovered on a mirror in an aircraft toilet. The aircraft was directed to a remote stand at FTE, where it was evacuated and searched. Nothing unusual was found. Two pax were arrested after they admitted writing the message as a joke.


CANADA

On Thursday (12/01), it was reported that Garda Security has announced that it plans to make 299 security screeners at Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ), redundant. The company, which is contracted to provide screeners at a number of Canadian airports added that another 80 screeners were laid off in recent weeks, but said it plans to recall a reported 231 workers on a part-time basis. Screeners have stated that they will check every item on departing pax, a tactic which has previously led to long queues at YYZ screening points.


INDIA

On Tuesday (10/01), an anonymous caller claimed that there was a bomb on board an Air India A319 operating between Mumbai (BOM) and Delhi (DEL). The caller told operators at an Air India call centre that the device had been concealed in a brown pouch. The decision was taken to return to BOM, where the aircraft was directed to a remote stand, and searched. The security operation involved the removal of 5 pax at a time by the CISF, with the remainder waiting on board. The crew complained that it had taken 30 minutes just to attach steps. The entire operation reportedly took two hours. Nothing unusual was found.


On Sunday (15/01), it was reported that entry to the terminals at Delhi Indira Gandhi Airport (DEL) will be restricted to ticketed passengers in the lead up to Republic Day on January 26th. The restrictions will be in place between January 15th & 29th. Additional checks will also be carried out by the CISF.


ISRAEL

On Tuesday (10/01), it was reported that aircraft landing in Eilat (ETH) have changed their approach path after intelligence suggested that flights could be targeted by man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) while passing over the sea, since they fly alongside several mountains that are in Egypt. It is claimed that the IDF is concerned over recent reports of Libyan MANPADs in Sinai and Gaza.


RWANDA

On Tuesday (10/01), an inquiry led by a French Judge has concluded that a missile which destroyed a Dassault Falcon 50 aircraft carrying the Rwandan president came from a nearby military base controlled by Hutu extremists, effectively exonerating Rwanda's current President Paul Kagame. The plane crash on April 6th, 1994, triggered the genocide of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in just 100 days. Kagame has always insisted that Hutu hardliners, who considered President Habyarimana too moderate, shot down the plane and blamed Kagame supporters as a pretext for the massacres.


THAILAND

On Wednesday (11/01), it was reported that a Thai customs official has been demoted after a YouTube video showed him hitting an airport security officer when he refused to comply with screening requirements. Footage from a CCTV camera at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) shows the official walking through a security check, objecting to being searched and then whacking the security officer's ears. The official then pointed to his badge and the junior officer bowed apologetically. The head of Customs said the official was transferred to an office job during an investigation into the incident.


UNITED STATES

On Tuesday (10/01), two TSA screeners at New York Kennedy Airport (JFK) were sent to prison after they admitted stealing $40,000 from passenger baggage. The two men were sentenced to six months in jail and five years’ probation. Both had pleaded guilty to grand larceny, obstructing governmental administration and official misconduct. Authorities say they stole the cash after identifying it inside an item of baggage as it passed through their x-ray station. The cash was recovered during a search of their homes.


On Tuesday (10/01), it was reported that TSA screeners discovered more than 1200 firearms, an average of four firearms per day, at screening points in 2011, many of which were loaded. Most passengers said they forgot they had a gun in their bag, according to the TSA blog. TSA Administrator John Pistole told Congress in November: "Clearly just the fact that we are getting four to five guns every day indicates that there are people who are not focused on the security protocols."


On Monday (09/01), the crew of a Delta Airlines B763, operating between Tokyo Narita (NRT) and Honolulu (HNL) declared a disruptive passenger event. The incident began when a reportedly intoxicated 65 year-old Japanese national slapped then punched a flight attendant. The aircraft landed safely at HNL, and the business class pax was arrested. He later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault, and was fined $2,500.


On Tuesday (10/01), a sheriff's deputy used a stun gun three times on an passenger who refused to complete the security screening process at Sacramento Airport (SMF). The inbound pax told TSA screeners that he needed to return to the secure area to get some belongings after arriving on a flight, but picked up his bag and ran into the restricted area before screening had been completed. He was arrested on misdemeanor charges of suspicion of obstructing a peace officer and unlawfully accessing the secure area of an airport.


On Wednesday (11/01), it was reported that a woman called Air Tran Airways claiming that her husband was carrying a bomb on a flight operating between Los Angeles (LAX) and Atlanta (ATL) in an attempt to stop her husband flying to see another woman. The errant husband was stopped and searched before he boarded. The woman pleaded guilty to making a bomb threat, and will be sentenced on April 2nd.


TSA Weekly Stats (2nd - 8th Jan 2012)

1 artfully concealed prohibited items found at checkpoints

21 firearms found at checkpoints

0 pax were arrested after investigations of suspicious behavior or fraudulent travel documents


AND FINALLY!

45 year-old Amy Brasher was arrested in San Antonio, Texas, after a mechanic reported to police that 18 packages of marijuana were packed in the engine compartment of the car which she had brought to the mechanic for an oil change. According to police, Brasher later said that she didn't realize that the mechanic would have to raise the hood to change the oil.