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.
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