Careful, watching to many spy movies and TV cartoons may give you strange ideas.

Neatorama has published the Top 10 strangest anti-terrorism patents. Here they are:

• The Anti-Terrorist Truck
  and its hidden machine gun turret made to surprise terrorists passing by
• The Face Protector Against Poisonous Gas
  certainly made in Gotham city but I have seen some in Pyongyang.
• Biohazard Suit with Built-In Toilet
  to protect these who wear it, or these around ?
• Railroad Missile System
  this one also inspired by North-Korean leader or some 007′s foes
• The Doggie Earphone
  “His Master’s Voice”
• The Airplane Trap Door
  is an option with crocodiles available ?
• Passenger Control System During Flight
  Be all nice, wear the armband has requested… it’s for your own safety !
• Airplane Sleeping Gas System
  Is the cockpit’s door air locked ?
• Explosion Containment Net
  Gladiators ! Gladiators !
• Mobile Crematorium
  “Nice” but what about CO2 footprint ??

Anyone else with such “brilliant” ideas ?

Source: Neatorama via Schneier on Security

According "The Nation" Bangkok newspaper, the railway link between Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok International Airport, and the City Air Terminal located in Makkasan area should be available as from December 2008.

Passengers will have the opportunity of checking in their luggage at the City Air Terminal, before boarding the rapid train to Bangkok airport. The 29 kms journey will take 15 minutes (express train) or 27 minutes (commuter train).

Interconnection with existing transport systems will take place at Phetchaburi station for MRT (subway) Blue line and at Phayathai Station for BTS (skytrain) Sukhumvit line.

About 80% of the overall work is now completed.

Emirates Airlines announced yesterday that passengers will no longer have to switch off their mobile phones and will be allowed to make calls and text people during their journey on-board.

The first flight with authorized mobile phone calls was made on 20th of March between Dubai and Casablanca on-board of an Emirates Airbus A340-300 fitted with AeroMobile system, which ensures mobile telephones operate at minimum power during flights and make sure mobile phone signal does not interfere with aircraft navigation equipments.

A second aircraft equipped with the same AeroMobile system will be in service shortly.

Rates were not published, but in 2007, cost per minute was estimated between 2.50 and 3.50 USD.

Source: Arabnews via Wi-Fi Networking 

Saw yesterday night on TV. 

Last Saturday, during powerful storm Emma,  39 years-old Lufthansa pilot attempted to land his Airbus A320 with 131 passengers in Hamburg’s Fuhlsbüttel airport.

Facing winds up to 90 km/h at the moment of the landing,  the left wing grazed the runway for a moment, but the pilot was able to stabilise the aircraft and take off.

The plane landed safely 15 minutes later on its second attempt.

All passengers and crew were unharmed and the aircraft was only slightly damaged. After having its wing tip replaced the A320 was expected to be back in service on Monday. 

Well Done Captain !  

Just after posting the article about new safety measures on US aircraft I found an interesting post on New York Times "Jet Lagged" blog titled "Airport Security Folies"

Here after a short excerpt of Patrick Smith article

" Six years after the terrorist attacks of 2001, airport security remains a theater of the absurd. The changes put in place following the September 11th catastrophe have been drastic, and largely of two kinds: those practical and effective, and those irrational, wasteful and pointless.

The first variety have taken place almost entirely behind the scenes. Explosives scanning for checked luggage, for instance, was long overdue and is perhaps the most welcome addition. Unfortunately, at concourse checkpoints all across America, the madness of passenger screening continues in plain view. It began with pat-downs and the senseless confiscation of pointy objects. Then came the mandatory shoe removal, followed in the summer of 2006 by the prohibition of liquids and gels. We can only imagine what is next…."

Continue reading it on NYT website 

On my own opinion, Airport security today is a mix between relevant and must have security measures on a side but also theatrical, annoying and ridiculous measures. Some of these measures are time consuming, put passengers and crew on their nerves for no safety added value. What does really justify them?

• Government "zero  political risk" (if something happens they will be able to tell that all possible protection measures were already taken) ?
• Fear factor = better military/law enforcement budget ?
• Security private experts / companies have highly increase their financial income since September 2001. They certainly not ready to give this golden egg away.
• Did I speak about million dollars detectors and scanners manipulated by low trained personnel ?    

but do you think air travels are safer to face well prepared, organized and motivated enemies ?

Passengers will no longer be able to pack loose lithium batteries in checked luggage beginning January 1, 2008 as new federal safety rules take effect. The new regulation, designed to reduce the risk of lithium battery fires, will continue to allow lithium batteries in checked baggage if they are installed in electronic devices, or in carry-on baggage if stored in plastic bags.

Common consumer electronics such as travel cameras, cell phones, and most laptop computers are still allowed in carry-on and checked luggage.  However, the rule limits individuals to bringing only two extended-life spare rechargeable lithium batteries, such as laptop and professional audio/video/camera equipment lithium batteries in carry-on baggage

The following quantity limits apply to both your spare and installed batteries. The limits are expressed in grams of “equivalent lithium content.” 8 grams of equivalent lithium content is approximately 100 watt-hours. 25 grams is approximately 300 watt-hours:

• Under the new rules, you can bring batteries with up to 8-gram equivalent lithium content. All lithium ion batteries in cell phones are below 8 gram equivalent lithium content. Nearly all laptop computers also are below this quantity threshold.

• You can also bring up to two spare batteries with an aggregate equivalent lithium content of up to 25 grams, in addition to any batteries that fall below the 8-gram threshold. Examples of two types of lithium ion batteries with equivalent lithium content over 8 grams but below 25 are shown below.
• For a lithium metal battery, whether installed in a device or carried as a spare, the limit on lithium content is 2 grams of lithium metal per battery.
• Almost all consumer-type lithium metal batteries are below 2 grams of lithium metal. But if you are unsure, contact the manufacturer!

Indeed this regulation will first be applicable on US registered aircrafts but as usual we may see this new regulation applicable on all International flights. 

Usually all electrical devices, including batteries, are subject to safety certification so either their are considered to be safe or manufacturer has to review quality and safety of its products. 

I really wonder on which basis these new rules are made from. Did anyone saw any incident statistics, reports etc.. (apart Sony made laptop batteries) or is it just one additional constraints air travel passengers will have to deal with.

After lighters and matches in 06, liquids in 07, 08 will add batteries to the restriction list.

All details are here as well as the complete list of items with air travel restrictions

Not yet sure if it is a good news or not, but Air France has become the first airline in the world to offer an in-flight mobile phone service on international flights.

One Airbus A318 aircraft operating European routes has been fitted with a mini GSM base station to provides 123 passengers the possibility to :

• Send and receive sms and mms messages
• Send and receive emails via all phones with Internet access

During the second half of the trial, passengers will be able to make and receive phone calls, with the service being regulated to maintain passengers’ comfort and well-being.

If passengers kindly turn off ringing traffic data from/to an aircraft should not be a big deal, if not journeys may become quite annoying with uninterrupted flow of incoming messages ringing alert.

Hard to imagine how will be a long haul flight with full mobile phone services (voice and data) "offered" to passengers. 

At the end of the six-month trial, Air France will examine the feedback and comments made by customers to determine whether to launch this service on all its flights.

What is your feeling about the availability of in-flight mobile phone service ? 

For the technical part,
Air France uses Mobile OnAir onboard mobile telephony system, certified by EASA (European Aviation Safety Authority) which does not interfere with the radio-navigation instruments on this Airbus A318 and may only be used at cruising altitude once the new illuminated sign “Switch off your phone” is turned off (recycling the "no smoking" sign ?).  The system is activated at 3,000 metres (10,000 feet).

More about this trial on AirFrance site including a video of the 1st trial flight.

Fifty years ago, the soviet union launched into space a 58.5 centimeters and 83 kilos shiny aluminum sphere equipped with 4 long antennas and 2 radio transceivers.

Sputnik-1 (Спутник-1 / Satellite-1), the first artificial satellite, had triggered what would be called later, "the US vs. USSR Space Race". It orbited 1440 times at 250 kms above Earth surface during 3 months transmitting radio signals on 20 & 40 MHz.

This single event launched new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. The Space Era was born.

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Sources: Wikipedia, Nasa.

At 15h35 local time (08h35 GMT), flight OG/OX269 crashed during landing at Phuket Airport. Apparently landing took place under heavy rain and the Boeing MD-80 went out of the runway, crashing into the jungle near by breaking in tow parts before bursting into flames.

123 passengers (70 foreigners) and 5 aircrew were on board and according last official report, 87 of them have perished. Wounded have been transfered to Bangkok's Phuket Hospital. 

Bangkok Pundit is live blogging information about this crash as they are released from thai and international media.

One Two Go airlines has released additional phone numbers for enquiries regarding this accident 

085-155-4622
085-911-5092
085-918-3422
02-535-7662
02-504-3227
02-504-3641

On Sunday at Kathmandu International airport, Nepal Airways sacrificed two goats in front of one of their flagship Boeing 757 aircrafts to appease Akash Bhairav, the Hindu sky god, following technical problems that force the company to suspend flights in the recent weeks.

"The goats were sacrificed in accordance with Hindu traditions, and the snag in the plane has now been fixed and the aircraft has resumed its flights" according a senior airline official.

We all feel safer now, isn't it?

It is certainly more as efficient as most rules that passengers must obey during air travels (no matches; no liquid; no electronics as well as windows shade up and seat back up right during take-off/landing etc..). Who knows!