Non-Subscriber Extract
Scanning for shoe threats
By Barry Cross
26 June 2007
The removal of shoes for x-raying has become just another feature of air travel security checks for many passengers around the world.
The procedure was introduced after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, when it emerged that the hijackers had concealed knife blades in their shoes.
The terrorists chose this particular method because they knew that most arch metal detectors have a blind spot about 8 cm above the floor that leaves them unable to accurately detect anything concealed within a passenger's shoe.
Following the 11 September 2001 attacks, the Israeli National Security Agency (NSA) issued a request for a solution to this problem that resulted in the development of the Magshoe four years ago by that country's IDO Security 2000 company.
Magshoe has been acquired by airports and other secured facilities in Australia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Singapore, Slovakia and Spain. Certification from the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is also being sought, while approval has already been given by the UK's Department for Transport (DfT), following a test deployment at Gatwick Airport.