"Airport security plan has some on edge"

Saturday, December 3, 2005

Airport security plan has some on edge
BY SCOTT BLAKE 
FLORIDA TODAY
 

Some local airline passengers and flight attendants expressed concern about
Friday's announcement that passengers will be allowed to take small
scissors, screwdrivers and other sharp items on planes again.

The items had been banned after the Sept. 11, 2001, airliner hijackings.

The Transportation Security Administration -- the federal agency created
after the terrorist attacks to increase airport security -- said the changes
will take effect Dec. 22.

Others changes will include more random screenings of passengers and their
bags, and a Transportation Security Administration work force "more
dedicated to detecting and defeating more serious threats, such as
explosives," the agency said in a statement.

"By incorporating unpredictability into our procedures and eliminating
low-threat items" from being banned, "we can better focus our efforts on
stopping individuals that wish to do us harm," said Transportation Security
Administration Assistant Secretary Kip Hawley.

But Melbourne resident Lianne Rezeznik is among those who disagree with the
change.

"I would ban anything sharp like that," Rezeznik said after arriving at
Melbourne International Airport on a flight from Washington, D.C. "The
safety of the flying public is too important" to make exceptions.

Some lawmakers and flight attendants said the changes undermine security.

"The Bush administration proposal is just asking the next Mohamed Atta to
move from box cutters to scissors as the weapon that's used in the passenger
cabin of planes," U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said, referring to the
leader of the Sept. 11 hijackers.

Satellite Beach resident Marianne Moore, a veteran flight attendant for US
Airways and member of the Association of Flight Attendants, said the changes
make no sense.

She said allowing certain items on board will not noticeably speed up
airport checkpoints because screeners still will have to measure scissors
and screwdrivers to see if they meet regulations.

"It seems that, from everything we hear, terrorist threats are alive and
well," Moore said, "and we keep taking steps back from security."

Christy Pisarra, who flies occasionally, said she is apprehensive about
allowing the items on planes.

"Although I used to think it was a nuisance" to screen for all the items,
"now I don't think it was too extreme," Pissara said after flying into
Melbourne from her home in Tulsa, Okla. "I'm a nurse, so I could see how
people could use some of those things as a weapon."

Her husband, Charles Pissara, said he is not concerned about allowing things
like screwdrivers and scissors on planes, but he has reservations about
matches.

"I get more concerned about whether someone's got something flammable," he
said. "I'm not so concerned that someone would use that as a weapon, but
just as a general safety issue."

Bobbie Galvin of Palm Bay said she has mixed feelings about the
Transportation Security Administration's announcement.

On one hand, it seems to be a good policy to check for everything that could
be dangerous, Galvin said.

"When you're flying, you don't know who or what you're flying with," she
said after flying into Melbourne from North Carolina.

But, she added, long lines at airport security checkpoints can be
frustrating.

"If they allow little things onto planes, like tweezers, and take away the
big threats, I think that will be sufficient," she said.

Melbourne International Executive Director Richard Ennis said he trusts the
Transportation Security Administration's decision.

"It's more convenient for the passengers," Ennis said. "I think it's been
thought out" by the Transportation Security Administration. "I wouldn't
question that."

Orlando International Airport officials declined comment, referring
questions to the Transportation Security Administration.

The changes announced Friday by Transportation Security Administration chief
Hawley are aimed at catching terrorists carrying explosives, which the
agency considers a greater threat than dangerous objects smuggled into an
airplane cabin.

Airlines and airports generally support the plan, as does the largest
pilots' union.

Hawley said screeners -- recently renamed "transportation security officers"
-- spend too much time looking for objects that don't pose much of a risk,
slowing security lines.

Since his agency took over airport screening on Nov. 19, 2002, it has
confiscated more than 30 million prohibited items from carry-on bags. Hawley
said about one-fourth of those were small scissors and tools, which will be
taken off the list Dec. 22.

Flight attendants say more needs to be done to make commercial aviation
safe. The flight attendants' unions have been lobbying for mandatory
self-defense training and for screening of cargo loaded onto passenger
airplanes.

What is, isn't OK  
 
The Transportation Security Administration will change the list of items
passengers can carry into airplane cabins as of Dec. 22. Following is a
partial list of items that will and will not be allowed: Permitted: 
Scissors with blades 4 inches long or less (new) 
Screwdrivers less than 7 inches long (new) 
Tools less than 7 inches long, including wrenches and pliers (new) 
Knitting needles 
Toy weapons (if not realistic replicas) 
Tweezers 
Nail clippers 
Round-bladed knives and plastic cutlery 
Up to four books of safety matches Prohibited: 
Box cutters 
Knives 
Tools with cutting edges 
Tools longer than 7 inches 
Lighters 
Bludgeons 
Crowbars 
Hammers 
Saws 
Ice picks 
Throwing stars 
Bows and arrows 
Guns -- Transportation Security Administration: www.tsa.gov


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