Thursday, July 5, 2007
Airport authority responds to TSA test
By DAN
HIGGINS
The Albany (NY) Times-Union
COLONIE - The Albany
International Airport said it supports efforts to improve security after
government inspectors managed to sneak fake bomb parts through an airport
checkpoint.
The Albany County Airport Authority Wednesday
responded to a Times Union report that a Transportation Security Administration
inspection last week showed flaws in the screening.
Authority spokesman
Doug Myers said the authority evaluates and updates security daily in response
to national and international conditions and official
directives.
"Testing results that point out any deficiencies in airport
security systems are immediately addressed," he said in a written statement. He
said he couldn't comment on the specifics of what the airport itself may
do.
The unannounced inspection showed security measures failed in five of
seven tests, with most problems seen at the passenger checkpoint, according to
sources familiar with the incident and quoted in Wednesday's Times
Union.
In one test, TSA inspectors hid the components of a fake bomb in
carry-on luggage that also had a bottle of water. The TSA screeners at the
airport confiscated the water bottle - passengers cannot carry on more than
three ounces - but missed the bomb.
On Wednesday, passengers traveling
through Albany reacted to the report.
Nina Franco of Houston said she's
concerned that screeners seem preoccupied with confiscating liquids instead of
looking for sharp objects. She had to give up a bottle of lotion she left in her
purse, only to discover that screeners didn't even notice the sharp pair of
sewing scissors she mistakenly left in her bag.
Another traveler, Rebekka
Grossman of Los Angeles, said security is heightened at LAX because of the
recent attempted car-bombing at the airport in Glasgow, Scotland.
In
general, though, she's not that worried about the occasional lapse in airport
security, especially at regional airports.
"I'm more worried about
turbulence," she said.
Related Stories:
Screeners at Newark fail to find
'weapons' Agents got 20 of 22 'devices' past staff
http://archives.californiaaviation.org/airport/msg38805.html