"Easing security rule at airports spurs criticism"

Saturday, December 3, 2005

Easing security rule at airports spurs criticism 
By Ryan G. Murphy
The Los Angeles (CA) Times


WASHINGTON - The Transportation Security Administration said Friday that it
would allow airplane passengers to carry such previously restricted items as
small scissors and tools starting Dec. 22, but that it would expand random
security screenings in an effort to increase protection of airplanes and
passengers against onboard bombs.

The agency said the changes would let it focus "on more serious threats."

Several legislators, flight attendants and families of the victims of the
Sept. 11 hijackings said that allowing sharp objects on airplanes might lead
to terrorist attacks. advertisement  

"While changes to the prohibited-item list may attract the most attention,
they are not the most important piece," said Kip Hawley, director of the
agency. 

He said that after evaluating potential threats and vulnerabilities, the
agency decided to focus more "on higher-threat areas, like explosives."

Under the new plan, randomly selected passengers will undergo body searches,
and their carry-on items will be given increased examination. The agency
said that the new screening could include checks for explosives in shoes,
the use of hand-held metal detectors to check individual passengers for
weapons, and pat-down searches.

Passengers also may notice more bomb-sniffing dogs roaming airports. Hawley
said there are 420 teams of such dogs, 70 percent more than in 2003, at
about 80 airports. The administration also plans to increase the number of
walk-through bomb-detection machines from 43 now to 340 by September, he
said.

The now-standard screening at security checkpoints will continue for all
passengers and the items that they carry on board.

No longer prohibited from airplanes will be: scissors less than 4 inches
long and such tools as screwdrivers, wrenches and pliers measuring less than
7 inches because, an agency spokeswoman said, "those size items are easiest
identified by the screener." She said that agency policy prohibited her from
being identified by name when expanding on the director's remarks.

Brian Sullivan, a retired Federal Aviation Administration special agent,
expressed skepticism about the new plan. He said that locked cockpit doors
might be opened by someone with a sharp object.

The transportation agency, he said, "may be acting prematurely, focusing all
of their attention on bombs."

Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., a member of the House Homeland Security
Committee, said in a telephone interview that the agency was trying to save
money, but the result would be less security.

Hawley said at a news conference that from March through September of this
year, airport screeners found more than 9.5 million prohibited items in
carry-on bags.

"We are opening a lot of bags to take away objects that do not pose a great
risk," he said. Hawley said that small scissors and tools account for
approximately 25 percent of the prohibited items found in passenger carry-on
bags.

Passengers' willingness to confront terrorists - along with other post-Sept.
11 security changes such as air marshals, armed pilots and bulletproof
cockpit doors - are why the Safety Administration believes bombs are now a
bigger threat than objects.

Airline attendants and families of the Sept. 11 victims criticized the
decision.

"This seems like a step backward in aviation, and it hasn't been thought
out," said Corey Caldwell, spokeswoman for the Association of Flight
Attendants. "This seems to be a staffing issue in TSA. They want to develop
more resources to search for explosive devices but in order to do that, they
shouldn't have to sacrifice another portion of security."

But flight attendants said 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 the cargo that's loaded onto
passenger airplanes.

Tommie Hutto-Blake, president of American Airlines' flight attendants'
union, said, "We are appalled that we are not being listened to by the
federal government as they downgrade cabin security standards."


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