Bomb-proof box under test in US

Monday, 30 November -0001

THE UNITED States government is considering what’s claimed to be the first bomb-resistant luggage container able to stop a small suitcase bomb downing an aircraft.

According to Howard Fleisher, deputy director of the Homeland Security Department’s Transportation Security Laboratory, the container holds dozens of suitcases and can protect large jets from small suitcase bombs that slip past airport luggage scanners.

Suitcase bombs have been a constant worry for aviation chiefs since one blew up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie in Scotland 20 years ago. Such bombs can get past security when they have explosive material that is too small to trigger an alarm from a luggage scanner.

But the bomb protection container could face some hurdles before it gets the green light. The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says it will not buy the US$18,000 Kevlar container, because Congress did not give it any money for them- and it will not require carriers to use them.

The TSA says it is in the process of certifying the devices as beneficial so that airlines can buy them.
A 2007 law requires the TSA to buy hardened containers for airlines to use when it sees a need.