"Companies Providing Airport Screening Lobby U.S. to Stay on Job as Contractors"

Wednesday, September 26, 2001    

Companies Providing Airport Screening Lobby U.S. to Stay on Job as
Contractors
By JERRY GUIDERA and JOSEPH PEREIRA 
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL


As the calls for federalizing airport security grow louder in
Washington, the major providers of checkpoint-screening services have
started lobbying to continue in business as government contractors.

The parent companies of the two largest airport-checkpoint concerns,
Securicor PLC and Securitas AB, propose that the government take
security responsibility away from the airlines and hire private firms
such as themselves to provide the services. Currently the airlines hire
Securicor and Securitas and others to provide the 18,000 screeners at
U.S. airports.

The security companies' approach is markedly different from the leading
legislative bill, sponsored by Sen. Ernest Hollings (D, S.C.) and
others, that would make checkpoint screeners federal employees.

What remains unclear is whether either proposal would solve the main
problems outlined by critics of the current system in the wake of the
devastating Sept. 11 hijacker attacks on New York and Washington -- that
the personnel employed on the front lines are undertrained and
ineffective. If Sen. Hollings's approach is used, the screeners with
recent experience at the contracting firms would probably form the main
hiring pool for the government as it builds its own checkpoint labor
force. If the contractors' plan is used, the personnel wouldn't change
at all.

In a white paper circulating on Capitol Hill, the contractors called for
stricter government-mandated security measures at airports, including
round-the-clock guarding of airplanes, use of biometric identifications
such as face recognition, enhanced X-ray and scanning machines and
exhaustive background checks of security personnel. Michael Rutter,
administrative director of Securicor, said that under the proposal, the
contractors would be taking on the added responsibility that would go
with these mandates.

The Federal Aviation Administration is considering installing
facial-recognition technology at Boston's Logan Airport and is in
discussions with at least two technology concerns -- Viisage Technology
Inc. and Visionics Corp. -- according to people familiar with those
talks.

Thomas Colatosti, chief executive of closely held Viisage, Littleton,
Mass., declined to comment. A spokesman for Visionics said it is too
early to comment on any contract awards, but he added, "it would be fair
to say that Visionics could be one of the companies picked for
consideration."

Last week, Visionics Chief Executive Joseph Atick, along with other
officials, was summoned by the FAA to Washington D.C. to answer
questions about biometric systems. According to Mr. Colatosti, it would
cost an airport the size of Logan International, with 36 entry points,
about $500,000 to be fitted with video cameras and photo-recognition
software.

Britain's Securicor is the parent of Argenbright, the No. 1 U.S.
airport-security firm. Sweden's Securitas is the parent of Globe
Aviation Services. Chief executives from both concerns are in Washington
this week. Joe Tuero, the president of Huntleigh USA Corp., a unit of
ICTS International NV of the Netherlands, is also lobbying in
Washington; he couldn't be reached for comment. The three companies
control 70% to 80% of the screening business, with the rest handled by
70 smaller firms.

The contractors' plan may be facing an uphill battle, given government
reports predating the attacks that have shown the checkpoints are
dangerously porous.

But Seth Young, an airport-security expert and professor of business at
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, called the security firms'
proposal "a step in the right direction" because it would boost pay.
"You've got to get airport security out of the hands of the airlines
because as things stand right now their interest is to go for the low
bid," he says.

Under orders from the FAA after the attack, screeners are randomly
checking more carry-on bags and more frequently checking individuals
with hand-held metal detectors. They are also for the first time
targeting travelers or baggage deemed suspicious-looking for more
thorough surveillance, security officials say.

"We have unprecedented security measures in place right now," said FAA
spokeswoman Rebecca Trexler.

Under the Hollings bill, screeners would be federal employees, subject
to more-stringent training and performance standards. To help with the
cost, passengers would pay a $1 charge added to the price of their
tickets. The Bush administration hasn't endorsed the idea of a federal
takeover, though, and the Department of Transportation estimates the
price tag could reach $1.8 billion a year for 28,000 screeners and
supervisors. Airlines say they spend about $1 billion on screening now.

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