Smiths Detection’s Explosive Threat Detectors Provide U.S. Airlines Extra Gate Security

Smiths Detection today announced multiple U.S. airlines have begun using its portable trace detection systems at boarding gates as part of an initiative to enhance airport security.

The IONSCAN 500DT and Multi-Mode Threat Detector (MMTD) are being used to check hand luggage for traces of explosives immediately before passengers board flights heading to the United States.

Mark Laustra, Vice President of Homeland Security, Smiths Detection, said: “We are pleased to help U.S. air carriers make air travel as safe as humanly possible, and these orders are a great example of how the airlines are working with the security industry to intelligently expand layers of security through a variety of technologies.”

The detectors, one desk-top and the other hand-held, provide particle and vapor analysis by using Ion Mobility Spectrometry (IMS) technology, detecting both explosives and narcotics from a single, easily gathered sample. Rugged design and portability enable the systems to be readily taken from gate to gate at boarding areas.

With the largest service and support team in the industry, Smiths Detection will provide training and support to the airlines to ensure maximum functionality and proper care of the detectors. The carriers requested anonymity, citing security reasons.

Smiths Detection, with major manufacturing plants in eight U.S. states, also supplies industry-leading X-ray inspection systems, bottle liquid scanners and other threat screening technology to around 80 percent of the world’s airports.