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New Agency Takes Federal Control Over U.S. Airports
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Security
has been tightened at US airports
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WASHINGTON,
Feb. 19 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The new Transportation Safety
Administration (TSA) took control Sunday of 420 U.S. airports. This is a major
institutional change resulting from the deadly September 11 attacks on New
York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C.
Better-trained
and more highly-paid federal employees, instead of those contracted from local
security firms, are now screening passengers and luggage to guard against
hijackings similar to those that led to the "9-11" tragedies.
"Security
is unquestionably much tighter," Transportation Department Inspector
General Kenneth Mead said. "People should feel much better about it."
So
far, some passengers said they were pleased with the new arrangements, even
though security measures are considered more rigorous than before.
"They're
a bit stricter, to say the least," Tanie Guy, an Oracle Corp. employee, now
arrived two hours early for his flight to San Francisco from Washington's Dulles
International Airport.
"If
a private organization does it, they're looking to make money so they're cutting
costs and cutting corners in order to make money," said Brandon Buhai of
Chicago, departing O'Hare Airport, also for San Francisco. "You hope cost
is not as much of a concern to the government."
The
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), like the airlines, has handed over
security responsibilities to the new TSA. It has closed airport concourses and
re-screened passengers because of security breaches.
The
TSA assumes duties formerly carried out by the FAA - before the terror
hijackings convinced U.S. lawmakers that comprehensive and rigorous security
improvements were needed at U.S. airports.
The
federalization of airport security was mandated by the Aviation and
Transportation and Security Act passed by the U.S. Congress late last year.
"It
is a very significant event in bringing enhanced security to America's aviation
system," Deputy Transportation Secretary Michael Jackson told reporters at
a briefing last week on the transition.
The
new law requires highly-trained federal screeners to replace roughly 27,000
private security guards - many of them poorly-educated and underpaid.
Officials
from the Transportation Department and the FAA spent the past month negotiating
contracts with airlines and more than 60 security firms. Some of which will get
paid at a higher pay than they earned while working for commercial carriers.
The
act also mandates that the new security screeners must speak English and be U.S.
citizens. Eventually, screeners will also likely be required to have a high
school diploma or equivalent level of education.
Low-skilled,
poorly-trained security guards currently employed by contractors hired by the
nation's airlines have been blamed for numerous recent security breaches at U.S.
airports.
The
new federal law also requires the TSA to install enough explosive detection
machines at the nation's airports by December 31 to screen all checked bags.
Officials
have said recently that they doubt they will be able to meet that target on time
however, because there are too few of the million dollar machines available to
inspect every checked bag at airports. In the meantime, hand-held wands will be
used to detect explosives, officials said.
Travelers,
however, said the security changes they observed Sunday weren't dramatic.
"I
was with passengers a lot, and they really didn't notice any difference,"
said Melanie Miller, a spokeswoman for Baltimore-Washington International
Airport.
Employees
have not been given any new instructions, said American Airlines spokesman John
Hotard. "We've always reinforced that they need to do their jobs," he
said.
At
Boston's Logan Airport, originating point for the two jetliners that crashed
into the World Trade Center September 11, there weren't many outward signs of
the federal takeover.
The
only things passengers will notice at first are chairs to sit on when asked to
remove their shoes to be checked for explosives, said John Magaw, undersecretary
for transportation security. In addition, travelers inspected with handheld
wands will have their valuables in front of them.
"I
hope that they'll notice a slight difference in the courtesy," Magaw said.
Magaw
was at a security checkpoint at Dulles, where a plane was hijacked Sept. 11 and
crashed into the Pentagon. "Hopefully, they won't notice anything much
different than that."
Some
arriving passengers said they saw tighter security.
"They
were very thorough," said Alison O'Keefe of Boston, arriving at Dulles to
visit relatives. "They made me take my shoes off. They went through my
purse."
In
recent months under the government's "zero-tolerance" policy for
aviation security lapses, breeches at screening checkpoints have prompted the
evacuation of concourses at major airports in New York, San Francisco and
Chicago.
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