Copyright 2002 The Houston Chronicle Publishing Company The Houston Chronicle
September 30, 2002, Monday 3 STAR
EDITION
SECTION: A; Pg. 22
LENGTH: 406 words
HEADLINE:
LOGISTICAL CHALLENGE; On airport security, where's line 'twixt safe,
convenient?
SOURCE: Staff
BODY: Americans are flying with more confidence
since terrorists used four airplanes to kill more than 3,000 people on Sept. 11
last year. That confidence comes despite the fact that airports do not inspect
all checked baggage for bombs and that it's a near certainty that dozens of the
nation's 429 commercial airports, including major hubs in Houston and other
cities - will bust a Dec. 31 deadline set by the Transportation Security
Administration to scan all luggage.
The TSA wants
airports to install 5-ton, van-sized scanning machines that can check large
numbers of bags for bombs each hour. But that means reinforcing floors, rewiring
buildings, expanding electrical grids and, in some cases, redesigning facilities
to accommodate the huge devices.
Airports can meet the
deadline by checking suitcases by hand or employing technology that detects
trace amounts of explosive on and inside suitcases, but that would delay
passengers for hours, further exasperating a flying public that these days is
apt to avoid flying more because of headaches with security than because of
terror anxiety. And flying avoidance costs dearly. According to local player
Continental Airlines, for every 1 percent of business passengers lost, airlines
and hotels, cabs, restaurants and the like lose $ 500 million. Those are dollars
that working families stand to lose.
Continental, along
with officials at more than 130 of the nation's airports, believes the Dec. 31
deadline must be extended, especially as it coincides with the holiday travel
season, and that airports be given greater flexibility in how the mandate to
screen all checked bags is implemented. TSA should allow more bags to be checked
for trace explosive material on the outside of luggage, rather than requiring
large numbers of bags to be opened - forcibly if need be - and the contents
dumped out for trace testing.
Airline officials argue
more emphasis should be placed on developing technologies that positively
identify people and improving passenger pre-screening methods to meet security
goals for less money and more passenger convenience.
The U.S. House already has voted to extend the baggage screening deadline by a year, and the Senate is considering a
six-month extension. Beyond haggling over the deadline, more work is needed to
figure out how best to examine all the luggage without discouraging passengers
from flying and dragging under the airlines.
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