Copyright 2002 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
December 31, 2002 Tuesday Home EditionSECTION: News; Pg. 6A
LENGTH:
585 words
HEADLINE: Full airport bag checks set
to start Wednesday;
Hartsfield, other large hubs get extension
BYLINE: MARY LOU PICKEL
SOURCE: AJC
BODY:A
revolution in the screening of airplane luggage for bombs will begin Wednesday
with the new year.
Industry observers expect some
isolated delays when airports across the nation start to screen every checked
bag for explosives, using a combination of sophisticated electronic machines,
bomb-sniffing dogs, hand searches and matching bags to passengers.
Previously, the government searched only 5 percent of
checked luggage for bombs, said James Loy, head of the Transportation Security
Administration. Now it will screen 100 percent of checked bags, one way or
another.
At Hartsfield International Airport, General
Manager Ben DeCosta says he does not expect the new screening operation to have
much effect on travelers.
Minivan-sized bomb-detecting
machines were up and running near the Delta Air Lines check-in counter Monday,
although one malfunctioned and passengers were escorted to another machine. The
machines use CAT-scan technology to detect explosives based on the density of
materials inside a bag.
Travelers who want to lock
their luggage have encountered some extra delays this week.
Pantelis Morfopoulos, on his way to Athens, Greece, was told to unlock
his bag Monday so screeners could put it through the machine and hand-search it
if need be. He was told he could re- place his lock after screeners cleared the
bag. However, when his bag cleared, a screener toted it to the conveyor belt and
sent it on its way. Morfopoulos, lock in hand, called out to bring it back, but
it was too late. A Delta agent said he would miss his flight if she tried to
retrieve his bag.
At Hartsfield's north terminal, crews
stood on ladders testing machines while other workers sat beside boxes of
computer equipment to do final installation of the machine's monitoring
devices.
The Transportation Security Administration
will employ 23,000 workers just to screen checked luggage. The new agency,
created to oversee aviation security after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks,
already has hired 33,000 screeners to check passengers and their carry-on
luggage.
In the past year, a team of more than 30,000
contractors fanned out to the nation's 429 airports to install the
bomb-detecting equipment, lay wires, shore up floors or create enclosures for
the machines.
On Christmas Day, 100 trucks carrying 200
pieces of bomb-detecting equipment made their way to airports across the
nation.
Loy said Monday the agency would screen more
than 90 percent of the 2 million bags checked each day using electronic
machines.
That means either the CAT-scan technology or
trace detection, in which a worker swabs the outside of a bag and places the
cloth in a machine that searches for explosive traces.
During the summer, Hartsfield International Airport and other big hubs
asked the government for an extension of the year-end
screening
deadline.The large airports said that plans to
place hundreds of bomb-detecting machines in lobbies would displace passengers
and create long lines.
The government relented and
changed its plans. Industry experts say Hartsfield and other hubs have been
given extra time --- as long as a year --- to build a permanent bag-screening
solution.
Hartsfield needs to build an underground room
large enough to hold about two dozen of the machines under the north parking
lot, DeCosta says.
In some airports, Loy will allow
other means of searching, such as dogs, hand searches and bag matching.
But they will be used only during peak hours, he said.
GRAPHIC: Photo: Airport chief Ben DeCosta says
Hartsfield needs to build an underground room for about 24 machines.; Photo: At
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, screeners Jon Epsteen (left) and Thomas
Snellbaker put baggage through a scanner Monday. / HUY NGUYEN / Dallas Morning
News; Photo: TSA chief James Loy tells reporters all checked bags will be
screened, one way or another. / JOE MARQUETTE / Associated Press
LOAD-DATE: December 31, 2002
