"Oregon airport security remains the most visual reminder of 9-11"

Thursday, September 11, 2003

Oregon airport security remains the most visual reminder of 9-11 
By Sarah Linn 
The Associated Press


PORTLAND) - Two years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, airports remain
the most visual sign of heightened security in Oregon. 

Airports have beefed up passenger and luggage screening, federalized
security employees and increased grounds inspections. The Transportation
Security Administration, created after the attacks, publishes checkpoint
guidelines and lists of forbidden items such as scissors, tools and pocket
knifes.

"We believe that good security is a continuous process," said Steve Johnson,
spokesman for the Portland International Airport.

Under transportation agency guidelines, passengers must pass through at
least two checkpoints. In the ticket lobby, bags are placed on a conveyer
belt and scanned before they are loaded onto the airplanes bags. Passengers
themselves are screened for weapons and other forbidden items before
reaching their departure gates.

To speed the process, the Portland airport recently awarded a contract to
create a faster, more convenient baggage screening system, Johnson said.

Starting in 2006, the new system will move the minivan-sized, million-pound
screening machines behind the scenes, creating more space in the lobby for
travelers. The two-year project is estimated to cost $50 million, with
funding expected from the airlines and the transportation agency, Johnson
said.

The massive screening machines were installed in compliance with the 2001
Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which requires airports to screen
all baggage for explosions.

Other security measures include conducting regular inspections of roads and
runways, and screening all airport workers with fingerprint-based criminal
background checks, Johnson said.

The Transportation Security Administration employs about 55,000 federal
screeners in airports across the nation. Many of those workers were
originally contracted by the airports, Johnson said.

Recent budget cuts have forced the agency to cut 6,000 positions by the end
of this month.

The Portland airport will lose about 200 screening positions, officials
said, leaving it with 450 full-time screeners and 172 part-timers.

Bob Jackson, the federal security director at the Portland airport, said the
cuts will mean longer lines at security checkpoints in the afternoons, with
waits of about 10 minutes. Security won't be greatly affected, he said.

Johnson said the airport tries to match staff levels with traveler needs,
increasing security during busy mornings and holidays.

Smaller airports follow post-Sept. 11 Federal Air Administration guidelines
for security, said Alan Alexander, administrator at the McNary Field Airport
in Salem. "It's just heightened awareness," he said.

Besides regular employees screening and patrols, those regulations include
paying careful attention to security gates and who uses the airport,
Alexander said. The Salem airport's charter service also follows federal
rules for surveilling passengers.

"We just brief our folks to be very vigilant," Alexander said.

On the Net:

www.tsa.gov

www.ffa.gov

Attached Photo:

In a field located at Microchip Corp. in Gresham on Wednesday, identical
twins Janita Ollison, left, and Jeannetta Ollison, 17, of Gresham, try to
read some of the names of the victims printed on more than 2,600 "Flags of
Honor" erected as a memorial to represent each person killed in the Sept. 11
terrost attacks.

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