Category Archives: airtravel

Security Analysis of TSA PreCheck

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Interesting research: Mark G. Stewart and John Mueller, "Risk-based passenger screening: risk and economic assessment of TSA PreCheck increased security at reduced cost?" Executive Summary: The Transportation Security Administration’s PreCheck program is risk-based screening that allows passengers assessed as low risk to be directed to expedited, or PreCheck, screening. We begin by modelling the overall system of aviation security by… Continue reading Security Analysis of TSA PreCheck→

Arresting People for Walking Away from Airport Security

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A proposed law in Albany, NY, would make it a crime to walk away from airport screening. Aside from wondering why county lawmakers are getting involved with what should be national policy, you have to ask: what are these people thinking? They’re thinking in stories, of course. They have a movie plot in their heads, and they are imaging how… Continue reading Arresting People for Walking Away from Airport Security→

Detecting Explosives

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Really interesting article on the difficulties involved with explosive detection at airport security checkpoints. Abstract: The mid-air bombing of a Somali passenger jet in February was a wake-up call for security agencies and those working in the field of explosive detection. It was also a reminder that terrorist groups from Yemen to Syria to East Africa continue to explore innovative… Continue reading Detecting Explosives→

Economist Detained for Doing Math on an Airplane

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An economics professor was detained when he was spotted doing math on an airplane: On Thursday evening, a 40-year-old man ­– with dark, curly hair, olive skin and an exotic foreign accent –­ boarded a plane. It was a regional jet making a short, uneventful hop from Philadelphia to nearby Syracuse. Or so dozens of unsuspecting passengers thought. The curly-haired… Continue reading Economist Detained for Doing Math on an Airplane→

Memphis Airport Inadvertently Gets Security Right

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A local newspaper recently tested airport security at Memphis Airport: Our crew sat for 30 minutes in the passenger drop-off area Tuesday without a word from anyone, and that raised a number of eyebrows. Certainly raised mine. Here’s my question: why is that a bad thing? If you’re worried about a car bomb, why do you think length of time… Continue reading Memphis Airport Inadvertently Gets Security Right→