San Diego Airport Won't Meet Security Deadline

SAN DIEGO -- Officials with San Diego International Airport told Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., Thursday that they don't expect to meet federal deadlines for installing new explosive detection machines at the airport.

A representative from the Sacramento County Airport also said there is not enough time to meet the Dec. 31 deadline, though officials at Los Angeles International Airport were confident the machines would be installed on time.

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"Given the lack of availability of Explosive Detection Systems and the complexity of installing the equipment in existing baggage handling systems ... we do not expect to be able to accomplish this task in the near term," said Thella Bowens of San Diego International Airport.

Bowens said the lack of time to meet the deadline has prompted airport officials in San Diego to pursue an interim solution using Explosive Trace Detection machines, which often produce false alarms, rather than the preferred EDS.

Bowens said that interim solution would be only a "quick fix" and wouldn't provide the necessary level of security.

"Additionally, screening and property search processes using ETDs will generate long passenger waiting lines that will serve to further discourage air travel ... throughout an already troubled industry," she said.

Boxer convened the hearing at LAX to receive an update from California airport operators on the rollout of new security systems required by legislation passed since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Boxer said she felt the nation's airports had made great strides in beefing up security over the past year, but that there is still more to be done.

"I can say that air travel is safer now than it's ever been," Boxer said. "But I still don't believe it is as secure as it could be or as it should be."

But like Bowens, Hardy Acree, director of airports in Sacramento County, said he, too, was "frustrated" by the current situation at his airport.

Acree said he is worried because the TSA has yet to craft a plan to bring EDS into the airport, which is complicated by increasing passenger counts.

"I'm concerned because if their plan calls for the airport to make significant facility modifications to accommodate the installation of EDS machines, there is no way the airport can respond with any substantive construction contracts in four-and-a-half months," Acree said.

He added that he also fears customers may be given short shrift in the final plan, because as time grows short it becomes more likely that TSA will adopt a "plug and plop" approach to installing EDS machines in the baggage check area.

The situation is not so bad in Los Angeles, said Paul Green of LAX.

Green told Boxer that LAX will be able to screen all baggage with EDS by the Dec. 31 deadline, so long as the newly formed Transportation Security Administration can provide the necessary equipment and personnel.

"The crucial caveat is that TSA's contractors take timely delivery at LAX of the necessary equipment and the requisite number of federal employees is available to operate the equipment," Green said.

Despite the concerns raised by Bowens and Acree, Boxer said she was unwilling to push for an extension to the deadline, saying that ensuring the safety of air travelers should take priority over other concerns.

"I believe in my heart that if there is one more incident like Sept. 11, the blow to the industry and to air travelers would make your responses (about concerns over long lines) in retrospect seem inappropriate," Boxer said.

She added that there are other approaches airports can take to improving customer service and speeding passengers through the check-in process, such as a "trusted traveler" program.

Under such a program, Boxer said, frequent air travelers would agree to background checks and other steps in exchange for priority treatment when checking in for flights.

The airport representatives said they would be willing to support such a program if more study was done on how it would work.

After the hearing, Boxer and the airport officials watched demonstrations of new security technology being planned for airplanes in the future, including new identification card scanners and Kevlar-lined cargo holds for containing potential explosions.