Saturday, November 2, 2002 Feds pare airport's security plans By SCOTT SCHOLTEN The Sarasota (FL) Herald-Tribune Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport's chief executive predicts long waits for passengers because federal authorities pared down the airport's request for security equipment. The Transportation Security Administration notified the airport this week that it would get less than half the equipment it asked for. Sarasota-Bradenton will get two Volkswagen-sized explosive detection machines and nine explosive trace machines, said Fred Piccolo, executive director of the Sarasota-Manatee Airport Authority. "People will get their baggage screened, but you're going to wait in line for a couple of hours," Piccolo said. "If people know they're going to go two or three hours before their flight, they're not going to fly, and we're going to go out of business," Piccolo said. "It's about survival of the industry they're trying to protect. It's slowly being choked away." Tampa International Airport, Sarasota's major competitor for passengers, will get all 10 of the explosive detection machines it asked for. So will Southwest Florida International Airport at Fort Myers. A spokeswoman for that airport couldn't say how many bags the airport processes at its peak times, but said it will get the six explosive detection machines it requested. Piccolo's concerns are bolstered by an airport security consultant who said the explosive detection machines are out of order 30 percent of the time. "Two is a risky number for them," said David Forbes of consulting firm BoydForbes Inc. in Evergreen, Colo. "You've got to be able to handle your peaks; otherwise people are going to jump in their cars and go to another airport." Forbes said industry experts disagree on the machine's capacity, with estimates ranging from 250 to 500 bags an hour. Sarasota-Bradenton had asked for four explosive detection machines and 21 explosive trace detectors. The big machines scan luggage for explosives. The smaller trace machines test for minute amounts of explosives by reading swabs that have been run over the luggage. Both are used to scan the luggage of passengers as they check in for flights. Authorities at Sarasota-Bradenton worked on their proposal with consultants hired by the TSA and the local federal security director, a TSA representative. But no one who made the final determination on how many machines would be allocated actually visited the airport. Piccolo said he asked for an explanation of the revisions, but no one could offer a rationale. The Boeing Co., which is handling the security improvements for the federal government, agreed Thursday to review Sarasota-Bradenton's needs. The TSA justified the number of machines for Sarasota-Bradenton by revising the number of bags each machine can screen in an hour, Piccolo said. The trace detectors are rated at 90 bags an hour now, compared with a previous rated capacity of 40 bags per hour. "Our measures are based on practical experience in the field at functioning airports," said TSA spokesman Brian Turmail. "The point of the pilot projects was to see what's doable. We don't see the prophesy of long lines out the door." Turmail said no airport is getting everything it asked for. In Fort Myers, Susan Sanders, a spokeswoman for Southwest Florida International, said she sees people tripping over one another and check-in lines flowing out the doors until operations can move to the new terminal under construction. A slow screening process that concentrates many people in airport lobbies creates an unprotected target for terrorists, said Forbes, the security consultant. "What if a bomb were in a bag? What's to say it's going to go off in the airplane?" he said. Sarasota-Bradenton had planned to double its passenger screening lanes from two to four, but that project is being delayed as TSA concentrates on meeting the congressional mandate. The agency had offered to add a third lane if the airport would pay for a fourth. Few of the nation's 428 commercial airports will get all necessary equipment in time to meet the Dec. 31 deadline Congress set for tighter airport security. Piccolo said TSA has too little money to meet the federal requirements in a way that won't unduly inconvenience passengers. "The only solution to this is Congress must move the deadline back," Piccolo said. "They cannot fix this in eight weeks. I don't care if Congress goes back in session after the election and appropriates a trillion dollars. The machines can't be made fast enough." Attached Photo: Ramp agent Scott Anthofer transfers luggage to a cart to be loaded onto a flight Friday at the Sarasota- Bradenton airport.
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