"Air travel barely safer since Sept 11: Report"

Saturday, September 9, 2006

Air travel barely safer since Sept 11: Report
Press Trust of India


London - Airline transport is only slightly safer today than in 2001 despite
the millions invested since the September 11 attacks, according to an expert
quoted in the specialist Jane's Airport Review.
 
Travellers are still at risk despite countless government reports
highlighting the need for action over aviation security, analyst Chris Yates
said on Thursday.

"The recent alleged plot to down up to 12 airliners over the North Atlantic
is the latest of several events in the past five years that highlight the
continued threat to air travel," he added.

Yates also referred to the downing of two Russian aircraft by suicide
bombers and to two major robberies at London's Heathrow airport since 2001.

"Weaknesses in checkpoint security have long been considered by analysts as
the Achilles heel of aviation security; checkpoint and cargo screening
urgently need solutions better suited to meeting modern-day threats," he
said.

The expert called for better embarkation controls, including passenger
profiling.

More than USD 20 billion dollars spent in the last five years in the United
States have not plugged holes in the system highlighted by the September 11
attacks, he added.

"Only a small proportion of money has been dedicated to research and
development of new solutions to meet new threats and a range of technologies
already exists."

"Now all that is required is the will to spend money to protect the
travelling public," Yates said.

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