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Airport workers face increased security screening
Beginning this May as part of a 90-day test conducted by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and in efforts to increase security and weed out potential terrorists, workers at seven airports across the United States will undergo more vigorous screening—such as background checks and random searches—before they are given access to secured areas.
TSA officials are concerned that some airport workers have unregulated access to aircraft and potentially dangerous materials—and if not secured properly, people with bad intentions could pose as airport workers and gain access to these sensitive areas.
Some of the security testing at these airports will include scanning of electronic fingerprints to verify the identities of workers who have access to secured areas, and awareness training.
Source: USA Today
Heathrow implementing biometric security checks
As part of a test program between February 1 and March 27 (the opening date of the new 4.3-billion pound [USD $8.4 billion] Terminal 5) travelers transferring to domestic U.K. flights via London’s Heathrow Terminal 1 are being asked for biometric information, including digital fingerprints and a photograph.
When Terminal 5 opens on March 27, domestic and international travelers will not be segregated, so additional security checks are necessary as a way to ensure that an international passenger does not get access to a domestic flight by switching boarding passes with a domestic traveler. The biometric data gathered at the security checkpoint will be checked against the traveler at the boarding gate. Biometric security is currently being used at U.K. airports including London Gatwick.
Source: Bloomberg.com
