This book addresses new technologies being considered by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for screening airport passengers for concealed weapons and explosives. The FAA is supporting the development of promising new technologies that can reveal the presence not only of metal-based weapons as with current screening technologies, but also detect plastic explosives and other non-metallic threat materials and objects, and is concerned that these new technologies may not be appropriate for use in airports for other than technical reasons. This book presents discussion of the health, legal, and public acceptance issues that are likely to be raised regarding implementation of improvements in the current electromagnetic screening technologies, implementation of screening systems that detect traces of explosive materials on passengers, and implementation of systems that generate images of passengers beneath their clothes for analysis by human screeners.

This report assesses the operational performance of explosives-detection equipment and hardened unit-loading devices (HULDs) in airports and compares their operational performance to their laboratory performance, with a focus on improving aviation security.

The guidebook presents a broad discussion of the various issues that must be addressed in planning air cargo facilities. It describes tools and techniques for sizing facilities, including data and updated metrics necessary to forecast future facility requirements as a function of changing market and economic conditions. The procedures offered support airport operators in crafting effective business plans and development decisions that meet the industry's current and future technological, operational, and security challenges in a cost-effective, efficient, and environmentally sensitive manner.