"D/FW baggage screening system's debut delayed"

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

Baggage screening system's debut delayed
By MICHAEL GRABELL
The Dallas (TX) Morning News 


An advanced baggage screening system, recommended in the 9-11 commission's
report, won't be ready at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport until this
summer, officials said Tuesday. 

The underground network of explosive-detection machines is designed to give
airport screeners a clearer view of what's inside a bag and to help speed
passenger check-in. 

The first section of the $129 million conveyor system was expected to open
Tuesday in Terminal C, and all the other terminals were scheduled to come
online in the spring and summer. Airport officials originally said they
would open the first section in October 2004. 

"Due to changes made by the airlines and TSA [U.S. Transportation Security
Administration], those dates have been revised," Clay Paslay, D/FW executive
vice president for airport development, said through a spokesman. 

The TSA wanted to modify the layout of the alarm-resolution room, while
American Airlines wanted to change the placement of emergency stop buttons,
D/FW spokesman Steve Roth said. 

American Airlines officials said that they had raised the issue about the
stop buttons "from Day 1" but that redesigns had moved the buttons. 

"If you don't get this system right the first time, making sure it works the
way it's supposed to work, the TSA could have security [implications], and
we could have customer service implications," spokesman John Hotard said. 

TSA spokeswoman Andrea McCauley said the agency has asked for beacon lights
that would flash when a machine malfunctions. 

But there are other issues delaying the system, she said. For example, in
one terminal, the conveyor belt was too high, making it ergonomically
unsafe. 

"Certainly the in-line system being the largest of its kind in the world is
a complicated technical feat with many players involved," she said. 

The intelligence-reform bill signed by President Bush last month called on
the TSA to expedite the installation of such in-line baggage systems at
airports nationwide. 

Several airports, including those in Boston and San Francisco, are already
using the equipment. 

When the system opens at D/FW, the machines will more accurately sound
alarms on suspicious bags and reduce cumbersome hand searches for dangerous
items. Minivan-size machines would be removed from terminal lobbies, where
the security screening process is hidden only by portable walls. 

Passengers would notice the change because they would no longer have to take
their checked bags to a separate station after checking in with the airline,
as they do in some terminals. 

Airport officials did not give a specific date for when the new system would
implemented but said it should be in use in all terminals this summer.


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