A Reuters report says that Israel has introduced a step-on scanner that spares airline travellers the nuisance of having to remove their shoes so they can be X-rayed for hidden weapons, though the device cannot yet sniff out explosives.
Only the shoes of passengers deemed suspicious by Ben-Gurion Airport staff are removed, X-rayed and swabbed for bomb residues. Most can now keep their shoes on.
The “MagShoe” scanner announces within two seconds whether the footwear of the passenger standing on it contains unusual metal that might be a knife for a hijacking or a bomb detonator part.
“This innovation brings enormous logistical value as it significantly cuts down the discomfort and delays associated with standard shoe searches,” said Nissim Ben- Ezra, security technologies manager for Israel’s Airports Authority.
But he said MagShoe must be used in conjunction with other precautions, especially as it would not spot hidden explosives – a major concern after the botched 2001 “shoe bombing” by al Qaeda sympathiser Richard Reid on a Paris-Miami flight.
A Report by The Mole
