At the end of last month, I did a blog entry looking at why the aviation industry was in trouble following the Christmas Day attack on Flight 253 to Detroit. Al Qaeda has promised there will be more which means more will think twice before making a booking.
According to rules just announced, all travelers flying into the US from foreign countries will receive tightened random screening, and all passengers from 14 terrorism-prone countries will be patted down and have their carry-ons searched. Countries on that list include Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya and Somalia. The complete list was not released.
Authorities claim the scanning will improve security but don't believe it. The Independent reports the scanning machines might be just a scam. Tests found that they don't work. The millimetre-wave scanners pick up shrapnel and heavy wax and metal. That's no problem. But it doesn't pick up plastic, chemicals and liquids. If a material is low density, such as powder, liquid or thin plastic – as well as the passenger's clothing – the millimetre waves pass through and the object is not shown on screen. The only things picked up in the waves and leaving an object on the screen are the high-density material such as metal knives, guns and dense plastic such as C4 explosive.
Given that that Al Qaeda can easily make explosive and incendiary devices using plastics and chemicals, this is a big problem for the aviation industry.
Critics have also questioned the effectiveness of the pat downs.
It's a situation not helped by rumors and market response to Japan Airlines' impending bankruptcy.
Whichever way you look at it, 2010 is already shaping up as a make or break year for airlines around the world.
no comment untill now