Shoe scanner to speed airport security

A new shoe X-ray scanner has been introduced at Israel’s Ben-Gurion airport, side stepping the need for air travellers to have to remove their shoes.

The new device cannot yet detect explosives however, so passengers deemed suspicious by airport staff will still have to have their shoes removed, X-rayed and swabbed for bomb residues.

Installed next to the walk-through scanners at Ben-Gurion, "MagShoe" announces within two seconds whether the footwear of the passenger standing on it contains unusual metal that might be a knife for a hijacking or a bomb detonator part.

"This innovation brings enormous logistical value as it significantly cuts down the discomfort and delays associated with standard shoe searches," said Nissim Ben-Ezra, security technologies manager for Israel's Airports Authority.

But he said MagShoe must be used in conjunction with other precautions, especially as it would not spot hidden explosives - a major concern after the botched 2001 "shoe bombing" by al Qaeda sympathizer Richard Reid aboard a Paris-Miami flight.

A bomb-sniffing version of the suitcase-sized MagShoe is in the works, an Israeli security source said. The current version, produced by Israeli firm Ido Security, costs about $5,000 (£2,914).

The US Transportation Security Administration is assessing MagShoe's feasibility for American airports and several other countries have expressed an interest, the Israeli source said.

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