"FAA overhauls airport, airline security"

Wednesday, July 18, 2001

FAA overhauls airport, airline security


WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Federal regulators completed Tuesday an overhaul of
airport and airline security rules five years to the day after the crash of
TWA Flight 800, a disaster that dramatically heightened awareness of
aviation security.

The updated guidelines, which take effect in November, have been in the
works for a number of years and build on previous standards for airline and
airport operations. A focus of the initiative is to guard against terrorism.

"This final rule more clearly defines the areas of the airport in which
security interests are the most critical and where security measures should
be the most stringent," the FAA said in the newly published regulation.

For instance, one major change grants the Federal Aviation Administration
authority to enforce security violations by airport or airline employees.
Enforcement previously was up to the airport or the airlines. The government
is now free to propose fines against security violators.

"This will help us out with access control," said FAA spokeswoman Rebecca
Trexler. "It's a human problem; people holding doors for other people who
are not authorized, people being out on airport ramps and not challenging
someone else they might see without proper identification."

Another rule expected to become final next year would require airports and
airlines to carry out progressive discipline against security violators.

Details are still being worked out, but enforcement could involve a
relatively minor consequence for a first offense and possibly dismissal for
subsequent violations.

Regulating baggage screening machines

The FAA is working on an additional standard, which could be out as early as
next month, that would allow the agency to regulate companies that run
airport baggage screening machines for airlines. Oversight is now the
responsibility of the carriers, which are regulated by the FAA.

The agency plans to spend up to $120 million to replace 1,400 screening
machines at airports nationwide with "state of the art" X-ray technology.
The airlines would still be responsible for the operation and maintenance of
those devices.

The crash of TWA Flight 800 off New York's Long Island on July 17, 1996,
killed 230 people and was blamed on a mechanical problem four years after it
happened.

But the disaster, at the time, elevated awareness of aviation security
because investigators explored the possibility that terrorism was to blame.
The crash accelerated aviation safety and security improvements.

Without quantifying the potential danger, the new FAA regulations cited the
risk of terrorist threats against the United States, including aviation
targets, from inside and outside the country.

Among other things, the new standards require the 458 U.S. airports with
FAA-approved security programs to streamline certain threat-response
procedures.

The FAA would not release statistics on security breeches, citing security
reasons. However, Trexler said the aviation system has gotten better at
responding and solving problems since a critical Transportation Department
audit in 1999.

But she cautioned that unless there is constant awareness, "there can be a
problem again."

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