"Lambert seeks hike in airport screeners"

Friday, October 21, 2005

Lambert seeks hike in airport screeners
By Philip Dine
The St. Louis (MO) Post-Dispatch 
 

WASHINGTON - Lambert Field needs 384 screeners, not the 347 the
Transportation Security Administration has proposed, if it is to achieve an
average wait time of 10 minutes or less for most passengers, airport
officials said Thursday.

Deputy Airport Director Gerard Slay said the results from the Texas
consulting firm hired to analyze the passenger and baggage checks at the
airport will be given to the TSA.

Without the increase of 37 over the TSA proposal, wait times could rise to
44 minutes and baggage screening to 51 minutes, Slay said.

In August, the TSA said it planned to cut Lambert's 440 screeners by 21.1
percent - more than any major airport. That sparked an outcry from airport
officials.

Though American Airlines cut flights at Lambert in 2003, the number of
passengers boarding in St. Louis - the relevant category for screeners - was
largely unaffected.

TSA officials said on Aug. 9 they had used outdated data and would refigure
the allocations within four weeks. This week, 10 weeks later, they said they
would finish within several weeks.

P.J. Crowley, director of the homeland security program at the Center for
American Progress, said of the TSA, "This is the kind of thing they've got
to get right and explain effectively and that's been a challenge for TSA."

Attached Photo:

Lambert Screeners

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