"Unattended Bag Sits Unnoticed At Louisville Airport"

Wednesday, November 17, 2004

Unattended Bag Sits Unnoticed At Louisville Airport
By Eric Flack
WAVE 3 Television, Louisville (KY)


LOUISVILLE, The holiday travel season is almost here, and that means
millions of people will be in and out of airports. But how safe are they? A
WAVE 3 Investigation found some disturbing security lapses at the Louisville
International Airport.

Airport security uses some of the most high-tech equipment available to make
sure bags that are put on the planes are safe. 

But what about the main terminal? Who's looking out for suspicious bags
there, and how closely is everyone watching?

At the Louisville Airport, the answer may surprise you.

Before you fly, they check your shoes, your clothes and your luggage.

"We are looking for a number of security threats at the airport," said
Louisville International Airport spokeswoman Rande Swann.

But who's checking out unattended bags? 

"Airport security is very important," Swann said. "And I think we all
realize it takes every set of eyes that is out there working together to
make it as safe as it can possibly be."

It appears there is still a lot of work to be done.

A WAVE 3 field producer took that a bag, big enough to hold enough dynamite
to kill hundreds of people, and put it in the middle of the main terminal at
the Louisville Airport, right outside the food court.

With our cameras secretly watching, and airport security unknowingly on the
hot seat, our test -- and the clock began.

How much time would pass before someone, anyone did anything about our
unattended bag?

Passengers passed by, but didn't seem to notice. The custodian did a double
take, but didn't take any action.

Pilots flew on by, too.

And as for Louisville's Airport security officers: Airport Police and TSA
workers walked by over and over again, but did nothing about our bag.

That doesn't surprise passenger Sharon Bowling.

"I travel about every six months," Bowling said, "and it seems to me like
this trip so far security has not been as tight as it has been in previous
flights."

Swann also seemed unfazed.

"I think you all thought WAVE was telling us something we didn't already
know." 

In fact, Swann told us the Airport Authority Board discovered the security
gaps this summer, after running some of its own security tests.

The board ordered a complete reorganization of security personnel, which
will take three years to complete.

One of the changes: canceling the contract with the private company that
provides curb security.

Maybe that's why one curbside security worker didn't notice our unattended
bag when we left it in the passenger pickup area.

After almost 12 minutes, it was the cabbies across the street who said
something.

"That's not my job," the security worker said of our unattended bag. "The
main thing is the cars."

We asked her who's job it was to look for suspicious luggage. "Everybody's,"
she said. "Yours, mine. Everybody's."

But one of the cabbies who spotted our bag disagreed.

"The reality is, with people coming in and out of the airport, all they're
thinking about is getting to where they are going," Guy Palumbo said.
"They're not paying attention to that stuff."

That's certainly what we were finding out, back inside the main terminal.

Almost 32 minutes after we left it, our unattended bag still sat untouched,
unnoticed. 

Even by people who sat down right beside it, like Al Taft, who told us
passengers need to keep watch.

"That's something that I do," Taft said. "I think that's very important,
that everyone takes an active role."

But Swann told us airport police bear the ultimate responsibility to look
out for unattended luggage.
The cops were doing just that down in the baggage claim area, where our
unattended bag was picked up 2 minutes and 34 seconds after we left it.

The Airport Police weren't happy about our test, and for good reason.

Back in the heart of the terminal, one of the most crowded areas of the
airport, our unattended bag sat for one hour, 10 minutes and 51 seconds. 

An airport police officer finally came over to check it out, after a
passenger had called and reported it.

By phone a TSA spokesperson said the WAVE 3 Investigation underscores the
need for passengers to be vigilant and help security keep watch for anything
suspicious.

But the TSA reiterated: airport police are responsible for the main
terminal.

As for the airport, it has changed its media policy because of our
investigation, restricting reporter and photographer access without
supervision.

Asked why they thought the change was necessary, Rande Swann told us they
didn't want anything "slipping through the cracks," during the security
reorganization.

Attached Photo's:

Left bag unnoticed.

To view the video, click on the following link:
 http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=2578321&nav=0RZFTERR

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