Heathrow Looks at Israeli Security Model

As Britain measures its response to fresh warnings of Islamic State terror attacks, a delegation of British aviation and counter-terrorism officials are going to Ben-Gurion Airport next month to ascertain if the Israeli security system can be imported to London’s Heathrow Airport.

The initiative, if adopted, would likely entail wide deployment of undercover officers in departure and arrival halls, along with reinforcement from custodial and maintenance staff, according to a British Times report Sunday.

They will be looking at Ben-Gurion Airport’s concentric security circles, which includes an initial check of every vehicle entering the public area of the airport. A second security circle includes security agents and technology at the entrances to the terminal, and in the third security circle, airport personnel do passenger profiling to identify suspicious passengers.

The report appeared following a statement by a senior Israeli intelligence official who last week noted that European airports remain potential targets for terrorist attacks.