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Tel Aviv - Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport launched a new biometric security system for outbound airline passengers Tuesday, less than two weeks after the failed Christmas Day bombing of a flight bound for Detroit.
Officials said the timing was purely coincidental.
Passengers check in using a new security machine as part of measures to increase security at Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on Tuesday.
The new system, called UNIPASS, is located at the entrance to the arrival terminal at Ben Gurion and is designed to enable passengers to perform the security check themselves.
While that may sound alarming at first blush, officials I met at the airport Wednesday assured me that the new technology is by no means a sign of them letting down their guard.
On the contrary, they said, it will make one of the most secure air systems in the world even stronger.
Anyone who has passed through Ben Gurion airport in the past would clearly remember the grueling questions and the careful hand-checking of their luggage. No wonder passengers are asked to arrive three hours prior to the flight.
The new system is expected to streamline the process.
One card to clear security
It took me just five minutes to register for the UNIPASS. I handed over my passport and was told to stand still while cameras took my picture. I was then told to place my finger on a glass surface for a fingerprint. The airport officials handed me my personalized UNIPASS smartcard, which I will now use every time I leave the country.
So the next time I have a flight, I can go straight to a security stand where I will swipe my UNIPASS smartcard and my passport through a machine. I’ll also stand in front of a special camera for facial recognition and then place my finger on a machine that does fingerprint scans.
Once the computer confirms the biometric match, a touch screen will ask me a series of security questions that are usually asked by airport security personnel such as, "Did you pack your luggage by yourself?"
...08.01.10
MYFOXNY.COM - President Obama once again is front and center on an issue that's been embarrassing to his intelligence agencies -- the failed terror bombing on a Northwest Airlines jet over Detroit. Thursday, Obama stepped up and sounded like Harry Truman.
"I am less interested in passing out blame than I am in learning from and correcting these mistakes to make us safer. For ultimately, the buck stops with me," Obama said in remarks to the press regarding his national security team's review of the incident. "As President, I have a solemn responsibility to protect our nation and our people. And when the system fails, it is my responsibility."
Obama said it was an across-the-board failure that allowed Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab to come close to blowing up the plane.
"Now, at this stage in the review process it appears that this incident was not the fault of a single individual or organization, but rather a systemic failure across organizations and agencies," the president said. "That's why, in addition to the corrective efforts that I've ordered, I've directed agency heads to establish internal accountability reviews, and directed my national security staff to monitor their efforts. We will measure progress."
Source: myfoxny.com
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