Farnborough presses air safety

Airline safety exhibits are attracting interest at Farnborough

FARNBOROUGH, England (CNN) -- Airline companies are looking at security inventions on show at Europe's largest airshow in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

The interest in safety devices underlines the sense that extra security could be the key to boosting air travel, which has decreased dramatically since the terror attacks on New York and Washington.

Two particular inventions have already made an impact on the industry -- a walk-through explosives detector and a terrorist-proof cockpit door.

Smiths Aerospace are introducing the Sentinel II detector to airport executives, although three units are already in operation at the Canadian National Tower in Toronto, Canada, processing 10,000 people a day.

Jagtar Basra from Smiths told CNN: "It's still going through evaluations, but we are expecting great interest in our product."

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The Sentinel II costs between $100,000 -$130,000 depending on the size of the order and can be installed in any airport within a matter of days.

"Our engineers will install and test the product thoroughly before use, so airports will have very little hassle once the deal has been signed," says Basra.

In the U.S. the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have set a deadline of April 9 next year for installing new cockpit doors on all U.S. commercial aircraft similar to one developed by the French company Avions de Transport Regional (ATR).

ATR: Gaining interest for its $18,500 terrorist-proof door

Antonio Zizolsi, ATR Director of Product Technology, said: "Europe currently only calls for (cockpit) doors on aircarfts carrying more than 60 passengers, but together with the American orders it has helped make the new terrorist-proof cockpit door a success already."

ATR says they have already struck a deal with American Eagle Airlines, Inc., one of the largest regional U.S. airlines, to provide the terror-proof doors.

"We've had great interest from European companies at the show and orders from companies such as Trans States Airlines, Jet Airways and Finnair have come through so far," said Zizolsi.

ATR says the doors should resist both 9mm and .44 Magnum bullets and can easily be installed by an airline's own mechanics overnight.