Boeing and El Al have abandoned their plans for a joint venture on airport and airline security.
In the wake of the 11 September terrorist attacks in the USA, Boeing and El Al signed a memorandum of understanding as a first step towards establishing a joint aviation security venture. Promoted by recently departed El Al chief executive David Hermesh, the venture would have acted as a consultancy to extend El Al's experience in security to US customers (Flight International, 15-21 January).
However, according to Boeing's vice-president security Charles Higgins, many of the measures proposed were incompatible either with US airport operations or with civil rights laws there. In addition, US airport authorities are currently too focused on the immediate challenges of complying with new security rules to focus on long-range plans, says Higgins.
Source: Flight International
