An Israeli firm has developed a step-up scanner designed to spare air
travelers the bother of removing their shoes for examinations for
hidden metals or explosives.
The sole-searching "Safeshoe" also detects metal items which could be
used as a hijacking weapon, said Avi Kostalitz of Ido Security.The
product is in its final trials and is due to be marketed by early
2003 at approximately $10,000 a unit, he added.
Footwear became a focus of aviation security worldwide after a
suspected Islamic militant, Richard Reid, was arrested last December
for allegedly attempting to detonate explosives stuffed in his shoes
while on a flight from Paris to Miami.
Kostalitz, a former head of Israel's Airports Authority, said the
briefcase-size Safeshoe was portable and designed to be used in
conjunction with standard airport X-ray gates.
"This means an end to the humiliation of standing around barefoot
while some stranger sniffs around your shoes," Kostalitz was quoted.