benberg2013

Anyone have any ideas what these new security measures are? And will they remain long term? Maybe they should take some lessons from TLV .

GUWonder

Indian-style entry control has been considered.

stimpy

That would be very silly. Anyone can buy a ticket. And if they want to disguise their name, it doesn't seem impossible to get a fake European State ID.

GUWonder

I agree it would be silly if it creates another herd/line of passengers and passenger protection were more of a priority than protection of expensive physical plant and equipment and PR cover.

Stolen or otherwise misused real passports do indeed get by Indian and Israeli security too. Different than a fake.

And real-time ticket/itinerary verification doesn't always take place even when security personnel ask for the ticket/itinerary as a condition of allowing a person to proceed to the next step toward taking a flight.

Some of these measures are undertaken knowing that there are ways to work around them but that the measure may also frustrate some criminals (and others) and/or be a layer of security over which some criminals may stumble. It also sometimes ends up being a way to get some investigative leads after an incident.

Buying a ticket is not allowed to some on some carriers; some names are blacklisted. But then fraudulent ID or name games can be a workaround sometimes.

desi

+1

GUWonder is right on the money.

Having gone through both BRU and BOM in last few days, I really appreciated extra security measure that India undertake (which I always used to find beuracratic stupidity and/or irritating inefficiency)

Lets put it this way, Indian method while not full proof, is a much more efficient deterrent than spending millions of taxpayers' money in parading hundreds of machine gun trotting soldiers for FEW days after any international event in Western world. It is really funny (and disappointing) to see such "security" measures only for few days in NYC immediately after something happens in Europe.

Indian method of separating airports into three zones (sanitized secured, controlled semi-public and public) has many other advantages too.

GUWonder

I agree that the temporary "show of force" responses in various parts of the US are not really a security measure but more a measure of trying to placate the public by engaging in highly visible shows of responsiveness. Suicidal terrorists with bombs don't care if there are armed governmental personnel also around when and where they want to blow up people in a highly visible, rather highly trafficked, public area.

Indian airport security is not something I would hold up as a paragon of security effectiveness, even with the rather low labor costs allowing for lots more government guns out and about. There are some extraordinarily awful weaknesses there, and a TATP-using IED user could rather easily make it into the check-in area for international flights at DEL and at BOM and pull a repeat oF BRU.

And even at the most extreme security of any Indian airport with at least 15 common carrier flights a day during its busiest day in a year, that being SXR, there are some things that are done that actually make passenger security risks worse than at Indian airports with fewer and/or less intense security measures.

desi

Not disagreeing with you at all, GUWonder. In past, I always found this extra step of Indian airport irritating. But it certainly adds some deterent of some value certainly more than expensive temporary show of force in NYC for few days AFTER an external event elsewhere in the world.

GUWonder

Here are the new measures for BRU:

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0WZ0HM

Passenger airport access only by car/taxi -- no train access, no bus access.

According to BBC:
Cars/pax screened on the access road to the temp check-in area.

Extra police check and ID/boarding pass check at entry to the temp area.

The general public not flying to be denied entry to airport.

Sounds like India comes to Belgium.

Romanianflyer

I really cannot in all logic understand such measures. Just on the eye it might make feel passengers (and Belgian police/airport unions) feel safe, but is it really? If you cordon off the airport, what would stop terrorists from seeking out an equally crowded target elsewhere?

The same as I really don't understand why in Spain on high speed services your bags are x-rayed, but not on (much more crowded) commuter trains. What's the point really?

Palal

So how do those of us who have no cars in Belgium and don't want to pay for a taxi access BRU!?

GUWonder

For now, then we do what we don't want to do: pay for a taxi or take a car -- even if it means asking to hop in for a free ride with a car/taxi in line to get checked.

Preservation of "more valuable" infrastructure (and perhaps security forces). Passengers may not be all as highly valued and/or valued as equal by those driving decisions in such matters.

mfkne

Just avoid BRU at all cost. They will learn that their security theater will only cause inconvenience without adding any security. What's to stop someone from blowing themselves up in the queue waiting to enter the airport?

benberg2013

It may not stop them from other places, however, bombing certain places especially the main airport makes a loud statement.

GUWonder

It wouldn't be a loud statement if bombs went off at a mass transit station in Brussels? Or at other Belgian airports? You do realize that Belgium has more than one airport with common carrier flights?

Analise

What is to stop someone from walking into IAD, AMS, or DUS from bombing the departures area tomorrow? Unless airports adapt TLV's stellar model of airport safety, anything is possible.