GERMANY

On Wednesday (20/01), parts of Terminal 2 at Munich Airport (MUN) were closed and evacuated after a pax fled the security screening area after trace detection equipment indicated the presence of explosives on his laptop. The departures lounge was searched by Police, but no trace of the possible late running missing pax was found. The incident may have been the result of a false positive indication, since no actual explosives were present.


GREECE

On Friday (22/01), a Sun Express B738, operating between Stuttgart (STR) and Izmir (ADB) was forced to divert to Thessaloniki (SKG) after a member of crew discovered a note saying "Today we will die, boom", in one of the aircraft toilets. The aircraft was directed to a remote stand at SKG, where it was evacuated and searched by security forces. Nothing unusual was found. A pax, found to possess a pen similar to the one used to write the note, was arrested and later released.


INDIA

On Friday (22/01), it was reported that security at airports throughout the country has been enhanced, after intelligence indicated the possibility of an attempt to hijack an aircraft by Islamic militant groups, allied to either AQ or LET. The threat relates to flights originating in India, or neighbouring states, such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal or Sri Lanka.


PAKISTAN

On Thursday (20/01), it was reported that security has been enhanced at Quetta Airport (UET) after intelligence suggested that an attempt would be made to hijack a Pakistan International Airlines aircraft. Additional security force resources, including troops from the Frontier Corps, have been deployed to UET as a result.


On Wednesday (20/01), Police at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal Airport (LHE) arrested a man wearing a Police uniform after he shot and wounded the leader of a local crime gang who had arrived on a flight from Dubai (DXB). The attack took place in a car park close to the terminal. Bodyguards, reported to be off-duty Police officers, returned fire, injuring a number of pax. All passengers and vehicles accessing the terminal at LHE are searched by the Airport Security Force, who admitted they had searched the assailant’s car, but failed to carry out a body search as he passed through a security checkpoint before the attack.


UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

On Tuesday (19/01), a passenger on board an Etihad Airways flight operating between Paris (CDG) and Abu Dhabi Airport (AUH) was overheard by crew joking that there was a bomb on board. The French national was arrested by Police when the aircraft landed at AUH.


UNITED KINGDOM

On Wednesday (20/01), Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced the suspension of the twice weekly service between Sana’a (SAH) and London. The flights by Yemenia Airlines, operate via Cairo (CAI). The operation was suspended as a result of concerns about the standard of security screening at SAH. The moves comes after Yemenia refused the Government’s request to have all pax and baggage rescreened at CAI, en route to London.


On Wednesday (20/01), the Government announced the introduction of a new “no fly” list as part of a package of measures to improve security following the NWA 253 attack. A second database will list persons who will be subject to enhanced security checks before boarding a plane to the UK. By the end of the year, a £1.2 billion investment in the e-Borders scheme will mean that all pax travelling to the UK can be checked against the watch list 24 hours prior to travel.


On Saturday (23/01), part of Terminal 3 at Manchester Airport (MAN) was closed after security screeners discovered a quantity of unidentified white powder in the cabin baggage of a London bound pax. Further quantities of the same powder were discovered in the passenger’s hold baggage. The powder was tested and found to a non-threatening material. The UK Border Agency were dealing with potential licensing issues.


UNITED STATES

On Thursday (21/01), a US Airways RJ145, operating between New York La Guardia (LGA) and Louisville (SDF) was diverted to Philadelphia Airport (PHL) as a result of a security alert on board. Passengers and crew became alarmed when a Jewish passenger began praying, during the course of which he strapped Tefillin - boxes containing verses from the Bible, to his forehead and biceps. Fellow pax panicked, believing the religious items to be components of an IED. Police at PHL removed the pax from the flight.


On Friday (22/01), it was reported that the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey has withheld payments to Raytheon in a dispute over the reliability of a new Perimeter Intruder Detection System (PIDS) at four local airports. The system, costing in excess of $100 million, was to be installed at Kennedy (JFK), LaGuardia (LGA), Newark (EWR) and Teterboro (TEB) airports, but is more than a year behind schedule and has been plagued by false alarms caused by weather and small animals.


TSA Weekly Stats (11th - 17th January, 2010)

9 pax arrested due to suspicious behaviour or fraudulent travel documents

8 firearms found at checkpoints

0 artfully concealed prohibited items found at checkpoints

20 incidents that involved a checkpoint closure, evacuation or sterile area breach


AND FINALLY!

Shawn Montero left a beach bar with his friends and promptly got stuck in an enormous traffic jam. Shawn couldn't wait another moment to relieve himself. traffic was at a standstill, so Shawn climbed out of his car, put his hands on the barrier, and jumped over the low concrete wall - only to fall 65 feet to his death. The car was idling on an overpass above the railroad lines. His mother later said "Shawn didn't do a whole lot for a living. He got along on his charm, just like his father."