Friday, April 6, 2012 Tenants can’t walk through airport gate Security Breach or Breach of Common Sense? By Amy Hamilton The Grand Junction (CO) Daily Sentinel Airport tenant Dag Adamson stands at the gate entrance for the hangar where TSA agents threatened to arrest him. Dag Adamson is a frequent flyer from Grand Junction Regional Airport. For business, sometimes the general aviation pilot will fly his own plane, and when it makes more sense, he’ll fly commercial. Late last month, Adamson was stymied when he attempted to use his badge to walk through the gates at Navigators Way to return to his vehicle that he had parked in his hangar. “A black SUV pulled up and said, ‘You can’t do that. Let me see your badge,’” Adamson said. “They told me I couldn’t go through without a car.” Apparently general aviation tenants behind the gates on Navigators Way and Aviators Way are not allowed to use their badges and walk through the gates, according to Transportation Security Administration agents who have been contacting tenants attempting to do so. A spokeswoman for TSA did not return an email seeking comment on the situation. Grand Junction Regional Airport Director Rex Tippetts said TSA is working on the issue, but he didn’t have a timeline on when a change might occur. Before the confrontation with TSA agents, Adamson said he was never told he wouldn’t be able to walk through the gates. He also sometimes rides his bicycle to his hangar, parks it there and walks over to catch a commercial flight. Adamson said he has rented his hangar for 10 years and also uses the space as an office. Adamson said he was told by TSA agents he would have to call someone with a vehicle from behind the gates to escort him inside. Adamson said TSA agents threatened to prosecute him if he walked through the gates. “I had a meeting to go to,” Adamson said. “If I had the time, I would have been arrested to show how stupid this was.” |
