A woman was taken into custody after driving onto the runway of an airport here Tuesday afternoon, police said.Local police are questioning the woman, whose name was not immediately disclosed, on suspicion of trespassing. The incident forced the airport administration office to close the runway for some 30 minutes, delaying a flight from Nagoya.

At about 11:45 a.m., a car sneaked onto the grounds of Ohibiro Airport and drove back and forth across the runway before coming to a halt at one end, investigators said. Airport workers apprehended the woman driving the car and handed her over to police officers.

The car sneaked into the airport through a cargo entrance that was left open and made its way onto the runway from Japan Airlines’ cargo storage facility, airport officials said.

A bomb alert in an airport terminal in West Virginia, USA turned out to be a false alarm as subsequent tests on suspect liquids did not show the presence of explosives. Earlier the airport terminal in Huntington was evacuated after two bottles of liquid found in the carry-bag of a woman of Pakistani origin tested positive for explosives and bomb sniffing dogs reacted positively to them, officials said.

The woman, who has not yet been identified, was questioned by FBI but was not arrested. The suspect’s bottles would be moved to a remote area by a robot where attempts would be made to detonate them and experts would conduct chemical tests to find out the nature of the contents, officials said. Screeners at the Tri-State Airport in Huntington found four items containing liquid out of which two tested positive, officials said. A canine team also got a positive hit for explosives, they added.

The flight in which the woman was to go was allowed to take off but about 100 passengers and employees were evacuated as police conducted the investigations. Reports said one screener noticed a bottle in the carry-on bag of the woman who was preparing to board the flight to Charlotte in North Carolina after the regular security check. The machine which detects explosives gave positive results in the case of two samples. The woman had a one-way ticket to Detroit vita Charlotte, an official said. He said the 28-year-old woman was originally from Pakistan but had moved to Huntington from Jackson, Michigan. Her identification papers showed she was born in 1978.

The US administration has banned carrying liquids into flights ever since the London police foiled a plot to blow up transatlantic flights coming into the United States using liquid explosives.

Souce: http://www.business-standard.com/

The US Department of Homeland Security is now requiring all passenger data to be sent to US authorities before any flights are allowed to leave Britain inbound for the United States. In the wake of last week’s events and arrests Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was quote in the New York Times as saying he

hopes the plot serves as a “wake-up call” convincing airline executives and European officals that the changes should become permanent.

Until yesterday passenger data was provided 15 minutes after a British flight took off for the United Sates, this allowed the flights to be turned around if any suspected terrorists or criminals were on board, but this could not provent mid-air attacks.

British Airways and Ryanair Holdings canceled flights today as disruptions at London airports dragged on for a sixth day because of the heightened security checks.

British Airways dropped 52 outbound flights, while Ryanair said it was forced to scratch eight flights because of the slowness of security screening and blamed BAA, owner of Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick airports, for the backup.

Transport Canada has added juice and aerosols to a growing list of banned products on departure flights in an attempt to prevent terrorist attacks following a botched bomb plot in the UK this week.

Meanwhile in the US the Transportation Security Administration said Sunday small doses of liquid medication, low-blood-sugar treatments, solid lipsticks, powdered cosmetics and baby food will now be permitted in carry-on bags taken aboard planes, a change from rules put into place last week after news of a terrorist plot involving flights between the United States and United Kingdom.

Laptop computers, electronic devices and cell phones are still allowed to be taken in carry-on luggage aboard domestic flights and flights leaving the United States.

British authorities, however, continued their ban on any carry-on luggage for flights leaving from airports in the United Kingdom. All items, including laptops, purses, even books and magazines, have to be checked, a situation that’s created chaos at Heathrow Airport where one-third of flights were cancelled due to the extra security measures.

Here are airline restrictions put in place since the discovery of an alleged terror plot aimed at airliners flying between Great Britain and the United States:

• Travelers boarding commercial flights at a U.S. airport will not be allowed to carry “any liquids, including beverages, hair gels, and lotions” onto airliners.
• Passengers on flights from Great Britain are prohibited from carrying electronics on board. There are no such restrictions on people traveling on domestic flights or from the U.S. to Great Britain.
• Beverages purchased beyond security checkpoints must be consumed before boarding — they will not be permitted aboard the aircraft.
• TSA screeners will recheck every bag at boarding gates for banned items, preventing passengers from carrying items purchased in boarding areas.
• Gate-side inspections are taking place for all passengers on flights to Great Britain. On other flights, the TSA is conducting random gate-side inspections.
• Federal security directors — the top TSA officials at airports — have discretion on how to implement the new policy. They can also use any resource available to conduct the inspections, meaning they can use their own screeners, state and local law enforcement personnel or airline personnel.

Source: CNN

U.S. airlines canceled UK flights Thursday, waived penalties for ticket changes and extra checked baggage, and asked passengers to arrive earlier in response to tighter security measures after British police said they foiled a plan to blow up trans-Atlantic airliners.

American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp. , said it had canceled six flights between London’s Heathrow airport and New York, Chicago and Boston. UAL Corp.’s United Airlines said it was expecting delays of more than two hours on flights from London.

Delta Air Lines Inc., which flies to London’s Gatwick airport, said its flights were operating normally.

The British government banned carry-on baggage on flights from the UK to the United States.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security tightened security on domestic flights, prohibiting passengers from bringing any liquids, gels or lotions in their carry-on baggage. It made exceptions for baby formula and medicines.

Delta said it was waiving excess baggage charges, while JetBlue Airways Corp. said it is allowing passengers to check in a third bag without extra fees, as passengers move newly banned items into their checked baggage.

United said it revised its ticketing policy, allowing some people traveling between the UK and United States to make one change to their itinerary without any fees.

Outgoing flights from Halifax International Airport were put on hold for about one hour Thursday morning after a suspected security breach.

Spokesman Peter Spurway said someone took their bags out of the pre-board screening area before it was searched.

The area was reopened after airport security located the passenger and searched the suspected bags.

About a dozen outgoing flights were affected and incoming flights were deplaned through customs as a precaution.

Flights were still delayed after the problem was resolved shortly after 9 a.m., with hundreds of passengers lined up at security.

Since 9/11 curb side parking has been banned by airports in the United States, and this has lead to a lot of extra traffic in airport parking lots all over the country. Recently however Cell Phone Lots have been unveiled at several airports, including Gerald R. Ford International Airport. These new so-called Cell Phone Lots are parking lots designated for drivers waiting to pick up arriving passengers.

Airport officials at Gerald R. Ford International Airport say they hope to cut down the number of people who crowd their regular parking lots while they await arriving passengers.

I think these are a great idea, I can’t believe this didn’t happen sooner.

And let’s hope for everyone’s sake it stays free.