"U.S. Security Measures Slow Check-In Time at Airports"

Sunday, July 1, 2007

U.S. Security Measures Slow Check-In Time at Airports (Update2) 
By Nancy Kercheval
Bloomberg News


Increased security measures are delaying airport check-ins for some U.S.
travelers during one of the busiest times of the summer, although no flights
have been delayed since the terrorist incidents in the U.K. 

The precautions, coming during the Independence Day holiday week, were put
into place after a car crashed into a terminal at the airport in Glasgow,
Scotland, and burst into flames yesterday. A day earlier, British police
disarmed two car bombs in London. 

``We do view the summer as a period of special vulnerability based on past
experience and what we've seen in terms of public discussion by al-Qaeda,''
and that's why some heightened security measures went into effect, Homeland
Security Chief Michael Chertoff said today on ``Fox News Sunday.'' 

Prime Minister Gordon Brown raised the U.K.'s terrorist threat assessment to
``critical,'' the highest level, and tightened security at British airports.
In France, Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie asked security forces to
step up efforts such as information-gathering and investigations, as well as
general security measures. 

More Marshals 

Some overseas flights from the U.S. to U.K. will carry additional marshals,
Chertoff said on TV. 

``There is a strategy of mixing up the deployment of these air marshals,
sometimes more in one destination, sometimes more in another destination,''
he said. ``Going forward, we will be doing some enhanced air marshal work
and similar types of activities with respect to U.K. travel.'' 

Passengers arriving at the airports governed by the Port Authority of New
York and New Jersey were subject to random vehicle checks, which were
causing delays in checking in, said spokesman Steve Coleman. The authority
operates John F. Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports in New York
and Newark Liberty and Teterboro airports in New Jersey. 

The additional security measures are ``really a matter of prudence as
opposed to a response to a specific piece of intelligence,'' Chertoff said
on TV. 

The American Airlines terminal at Kennedy was evacuated this morning about
10:20 a.m. New York time after authorities discovered a suspicious package,
Coleman said. An all-clear was issued an hour later when it was found to be
``non-hazardous,'' he said in an e-mail. 

Five Arrested 

Washington Dulles International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington
National Airport, which handle fewer passengers on Sundays, reported a
``relatively quiet'' morning, said Metropolitan Washington Airports
Authority spokeswoman Tara Hamilton. 

``We are not doing random checks of vehicles, although it's something that
could be put in place later today,'' she said. ``The only thing different
people would see anyway is the random vehicle checks.'' 

U.S. airports have been at the ``orange'' threat level, the second-highest
on the government's five-level scale, since August 2006, when U.K. police
said they foiled a plot to blow up aircraft bound for the U.S. The
heightened alert included a ban on passengers taking more than a small
quantity of liquids, aerosols and gels in their carry-on bags. 

In the U.K., police have arrested five people and searched houses after the
attack on Glasgow International Airport and the two attempted London
bombings. 

Police tightened controls at British airports, checked cars and put more
patrols in crowded public areas, Brown said in a British Broadcasting Corp.
interview.

 Do you have an opinion about this story?
Share it with other readers in our CAA Discussion Forums

http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php


*****************************************