E-tickets may face ban

Airport security under scrutiny

Bans on electronic tickets and automatic baggage check-ins are amongst new security measures being considered by federal authorities concerned about hidden criminal activity occurring at Australian airports.

According to the Sunday Sun Herald, police told a federal parliamentary committee that drug-runners were using fake IDs to buy air tickets to aid the flow of contraband from Sydney to Melbourne.

The committee have since expressed concerns over the growth of e-ticketing and the lack of scrutiny once tickets are issued.

"We were surprised at the rapid development of this innovation in air travel and the misuse of it by organised crime figures," committee chairman Senator Steve Hutchins said, the newspaper reported.

The airport security crackdown may also see non-passengers barred from entering terminals, as well as compulsory passenger identity checks at domestic airports.

On the issue of the introduction of a proposed national ID card, Senator Hutchins said it is important that airlines know the identity of each passenger – a practice which at present is largely being avoided.

"We are talking about identification of the passenger who purchased the ticket being the bum on the seat and that is what the police force, law-enforcement agencies and other bodies have highlighted as a gap in our domestic airport security,” Senator Hutchins said.

“Any opportunity that may close that loophole must be investigated by any federal agency that has the power to do so."