JWA set for bomb detection

Paul Clinton

A year after putting in place sweeping new security measures to

guard against terrorist acts, airport managers are counting on the

installation later this year of a $29-million explosives-detection

system to scan 100% of all checked bags.

Optimism is not as high, however, within the newly formed

Transportation Security Administration, as officials there say they

may have to back away from their original Dec. 31 deadline to install

the new machines.

Work is already underway at the airport to wall off a section of

the parking structures to scan bags, install a network of conveyor

belts that will move the bags from the terminal to the scanning area

and add more power generation capacity to run the equipment by Dec.

31, Airport Director Alan Murphy said.

“The world has changed so drastically for the airport business,”

Murphy said. “Security has always been a focus for us; it is our No.

1 concern.”

Federal transportation safety regulators have also set a

mid-November deadline for replacing private passenger screeners with

federal ones.

By congressional and presidential order, the Transportation

Security Administration must implement the full-scale screening at

the nation’s 429 airports by the end of the year.

Already ahead of the curve, John Wayne Airport should be ready for

the explosive-detection devices by Dec. 1, even if the machines

aren’t there, Murphy said.

The move would significantly step up screening of checked bags.

Now, only 10% to 15% of checked-bags are screened. The move is a

logistical nightmare at other airports, where managers say they

provide too many false alarms and can lead to staggering delays for

travelers of up to 10 hours for hand-checks of every single suitcase.

On Monday, a federal spokesman for the administration said the new

agency might not meet the deadline.

“Because Congress did not provide the Transportation Security

Administration with all the funding we requested, we are having to

reevaluate our deadline,” administration spokesman David Steigman

said.

Costs of the new explosives screening will be shared by Orange

County, who owns the airport, and the federal government. On Aug. 20,

county supervisors approved $18 million to build the baggage systems.

“John Wayne is one of the safest airports to fly out of,”

Supervisor Jim Silva said.

Administration officials have agreed to shoulder the remaining $11

million to purchase and install the equipment. The airport will ask

for a federal reimbursement for the $18 million, spokeswoman Ann

McCarley said, since it was mandated from above.

The agency has also set a Nov. 19 deadline to complete the

transition from private passenger screeners to federal screeners. So

far, the agency has hired 26,600 of an expected 30,000 to man the

screening areas in terminals nationwide.

Steigman said the administration would allocate 500 screeners to

John Wayne Airport to man the eight screening areas in the Thomas F.

Riley Terminal.

Some of the existing screeners were hired by the federal

government, once they met a series of new, stricter requirements

including mandatory citizenship, command of the English language and

a high school diploma or GED certificate. New screeners were also

recruited, he said.

About 1,000 applicants showed up at the Sutton Place Hotel in

Newport Beach for a two-day job fair in late August aimed at filling

the positions.

In a bid to get a jump on the new wave of security measures,

airport managers also installed additional checkpoints to prevent

long lines and clogged screening areas at a cost of $500,000.

In May, the airport added a fourth checkpoint to Terminal A. In

June, a fourth checkpoint was added to Terminal B. The additional

checkpoints have reduced delays from as much as one hour to about 15

minutes, Murphy said.

The 10 airlines that use John Wayne have been working with the

federal government to install the new explosives-detection devices,

said Southwest spokeswoman Whitney Brewer.

“It’s something we’ve been concentrating on very hard,” Brewer

said. “We’ve been working very closely with the TSA so we can meet

the deadline.”

Unlike plans for other airports, the large screening machines

won’t be installed in the lobby at John Wayne Airport. At its Dallas

hub, Southwest has been screening the bags in the terminal lobby.

In the months directly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the

Federal Aviation Administration ordered a litany of security measures

put in place. Those include random checks of carry-on luggage, shoe

inspections and a ban on sharp objects, all of which are still in

place at John Wayne.

Measures could be added or dropped depending on whether they

remain useful in securing the airport, Murphy said.

“In order to be successful in this type of operation, you have to

be continuously reassessing [the security measures],” Murphy said.

“It’s an evolving process.”

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment and politics. He may be

reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at paul.clinton@latimes.com.