Airline security critic raided by Feds

By Thomas C Greene in Dublin

Indiana University graduate student Christopher Soghoian pointed out a flaw in airline security by posting a fake boarding pass generator online, and was rewarded with a visit from FBI agents with a search warrant.

The FBI raided his residence on Saturday, only days after the student posted a PHP script enabling anyone to print a boarding pass for Northwest Airlines.

It’s unlikely that a fake pass would enable someone to board a flight they hadn’t paid for, but it would suffice to get one into the “secure” area of an airport. Soghoian’s example passes would fail at the gate when read electronically. Still, they would likely not be challenged until that point.

The trick involved is not new; indeed, it was publicised by Slate magazine in February 2005. Creating a script enabling any fool to generate a pass was Soghoian’s contribution.

Emirates Airline begins Dubai-Bangalore operations

BANGALORE: Emirates Airline, the wholly owned airline of Dubai Government, commenced operations between Dubai and Bangalore on Sunday.

Emirates added 2,000 seats and 120 tonnes of cargo per week with eight flights through the Bangalore operation.

Nabil Sultan, Emirates’ senior vice-president-commercial operations (West Asia and Indian Ocean), told presspersons here on Monday that the Dubai-based airline’s presence in India included 71 weekly flights to eight destinations, of which Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram commanded 39 flights.

Nigeria Airline Suspended After Crash

Nigeria’s government has suspended the license of an airline involved in a plane crash Sunday that killed 96 people.

Aviation Minister Babalola Borishade announced the decision, saying ADC – Aviation Development Corporation – airline had failed to adopt safety practices.

He said the crash may have been avoided if the pilot had taken the advice of air traffic controllers to wait for a storm to pass.