"Security less severe at private terminals"

Tuesday, September 25, 2001 

Security less severe at private terminals
By Jace Radke 
THE LAS VEGAS (NV) SUN


Long delays for security checks have suddenly become a part of air
travel in Las Vegas, unless the traveler is flying on a private plane
out of McCarran International Airport's general aviation area.

Security measures are far less severe at McCarran's private Executive
and Signature Flight Support terminals than in the commercial terminals.

The private terminals sit at the northwest corner of the airport, across
busy runways from McCarran's main terminals. The private terminals have
their own entrances off Las Vegas Boulevard South between Tropicana
Avenue and Sunset Road.

The aircraft leaving from those terminals use the same runways as
commercial flights, but that is the only similarity.

There is no baggage scanning in the two private terminals, and
relatively little security clearance overall, Clark County Aviation
Director Randy Walker said.

"They do not have nearly the same level of security that we have over
here," Walker said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said that the security is different
because of laws that require additional precautions for mass transit,
FAA spokesman Jerry Snyder said.

"With general aviation you have private vehicles like a personal car,"
Snyder said. "Commercial airlines are mass transit, like a bus or a
ship, and there is more stringent security there.

"One of the big concerns is that an airplane can be used as a weapon,
and the FAA is looking at new security measures."

Snyder said that in the end there are more safety measures for
commercial flights because more travelers fly on them. Two federal task
forces are expected to deliver recommendations about airline and
aircraft safety on Monday, and new regulations for general aviation
could come from the groups, Snyder said.

Executive and Signature serve as a kind of truck stop for planes where
private aircraft owners can get gas, store their planes and get
maintenance and repair work done.

The types of planes most commonly found at the two terminals are the
types not affected by the ongoing grounding of general aviation flights.
The aircraft at these terminals are, for the most part, larger,
corporate jets that are still allowed to fly while small recreational
planes remain grounded.

Some private planes are housed in hangars rented from Signature or
Executive, while other plane owners store their aircraft in private
hangars.

Charter companies operating out of the terminals specialize in helping
well-heeled passengers get to their destinations without the hassles of
commercial airports -- including the security checks.

"I charge $3,500 to fly to Los Angeles and $25,000 to go to New York, so
that tends to weed a lot of people out," Eagle Jet Charter chief pilot
Doug Wright said. "But now it seems like the terrorists have the money
to use charter services."

Many of Wright's customers are repeat business, and many are high
rollers vouched for by Strip resorts. He also reserves the right not to
take a passenger if he doesn't want to.

"We pretty much just check driver's licenses, but if I don't want to
take someone somewhere, I just tell them the plane is having repairs
done," Wright said.

The terminals keep the details of their security plans confidential, but
Signature security administrator Leroy Jackson said that Signature makes
a series of security checks that include requiring anybody leaving the
terminal to show identification.

"We aren't required to run screens on bags," Jackson said. "A lot of
that we have to leave up to the individual aircraft."

As at McCarran, Metro Police respond to all public safety calls and
security breaches at the terminals, such as unauthorized people out on
the tarmac, or in the hangars, police said.

The private terminals also rely on the same security badge system used
at the commercial airport.

The employees who work at the Signature and Executive terminals must go
through criminal background checks and employment history checks of the
past 10 years. Metro conducts the background checks, and job applicants
who pass must score 100 percent on a written security examination.

The coding on the back of the cards determines which areas employees
have access to, airport spokeswoman Debbie Millett said.

"The cards will only give them access to the areas they need to be in,"
Millett said.

For example a gas man or mechanic would have clearance to be outside
around the aircraft or in a hangar, but a counter worker may only have
clearance for doors inside the terminal.

Pilots also go through the security checks to receive badges, because
they have to be cleared to get out to the planes. Pilots, or other
badged personnel, can escort those without security clearance to planes,
McCarran officials said.

Private planes also are based in hangars at Quail Park Property
Management, 195 E. Reno Ave., which are accessible to owners and
passengers from street entrances. That allows them to get to their
planes without going through restricted areas, avoiding the associated
security measures.

The security measures at Executive and Signature are fairly common at
larger general aviation airports nationwide. Only at Midway Airport in
Chicago, where there is almost an equal split between commercial and
general aviation, are private and charter flight passengers checked and
their bags screened, Wright said.

But that could change, he said.

"That's the only place I know of that does that, but I expect that the
Federal Aviation Administration will be handing down some new
regulations for us," Wright said. "Right now we use our own common sense
and vigilance, and I remember that when I'm flying someone, I'm also
flying my kid's dad."

Attached Photo:

SIGNATURE FLIGHT SUPPORT provides services for personal and charter
aircraft at McCarran International Airport. Security is less severe at
Las Vegas' private airports.

fbo.jpg