TOP 5 SECURITY TIPS FROM EL AL

5. El Al ignores political correctness

Critics of El Al’s practices like to denounce their passenger security checks because it includes racial profiling. While no one likes to admit that a certain small group of people tend to commit airline terrorism, the facts are facts. Little old ladies don’t get caught with shoe bombs. They have a policy of singling out young Arab men for extensive search procedures -- but that’s playing the odds. When there is a tight schedule, time doesn’t need to be wasted searching low-risk people.

4. Passengers are interviewed before boarding El Al flights

Psychologists believe very few potential terrorists are able to stay calm during direct questioning right before boarding the flight. People trained in interrogation are able to tell if passengers are nervous or lying. While airline employees may ask if someone packed their bags themselves, they aren’t trained to read a person’s eye movements and facial twitches. El Al staff are trained and ask the reason for a passengers trip, their job or occupation and whether they have packed their bags themselves. It still doesn’t take much time and could be the extra step needed.

3. Cockpit doors are reinforced on El Al planes

After Sept. 11, there was talk about reinforcing cockpit doors. While measures have been taken to improve pilots’ security, it is still not the highest it could be. There should be two doors to prevent entry by unauthorized persons. A secret code should be required to open the first door and the second door can only be opened from inside the cockpit. Also, there should be reinforced steel floors that separate the passenger cabin from the baggage hold, so just in case a bomb explodes in the cargo area, passengers have a better chance of surviving.

2. All El Al planes are outfitted with Flight Guard

In 2002, a terrorist group attempted to shoot down an Israeli airliner. After that, Israeli Aerospace Industries developed Flight Guard, an infrared countermeasures system that protects the plane from heat-seeking missiles. When the plane is landing or taking off, false heat targets or flares are shot off to confuse the infrared. This technology has been used since the Vietnam War, but El Al is the first to outfit civilian aircrafts with the system.

1. Air marshals are on each El Al flight

Just like the talk about reinforcing cockpit doors after Sept. 11, politicians made promises that air marshals would be on every flight. Currently, the rumor exists that marshals fly on only 1% of American flights. While the Transportation Security Administration states this is not true and will not report their number, there are still aren't marshals on every flight. Marshals hold the highest standard for handgun accuracy and are the last line of defence