HEADLINE: As
baggage deadline nears, safety agency's denial grows
BODY: Today's debate: Flier safety
Our view: New screening devices won't be installed at
every airport by Dec. 31.
With less than eight weeks to
go before its deadline, the federal government should be putting the final
touches on a promise made in the wake of last year's terror attacks -- that all
luggage checked by fliers would be screened for explosives by Dec. 31.
But preparations aren't even close. And
instead of admitting that the goal appears increasingly unrealistic, the newly
formed Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is resorting to disingenuous
arguments. Asked about the deadline, the TSA responds that 95% of the nation's
airports will have CAT-scan screening equipment by year's end. The claim ignores
the fact that the remaining 5% include many of the USA's largest airports that
handle roughly three-quarters of the nation's air travelers.
If those airports are to screen all checked luggage, many
will be forced to use a cumbersome and time-consuming "trace detection"
technique, in which bags must be wiped with a special cloth -- and, in some
cases, opened -- to check for trace amounts of explosives. Airport managers
meeting in Salt Lake City this week raised the prospect that the resulting
delays beginning New Year's Day 2003 could wreak havoc for holiday travelers.
Many flatly declared their airports couldn't meet the screening
deadline.
Add their warnings to the
growing evidence that the TSA is deluding itself -- and, worse yet, the flying
public -- when it promises that air-security improvements will occur on time.
Among the most glaring obstacles:
* Questionable protection. To
meet Congress' deadline, the TSA has settled on an interim plan that combines
CAT-scan machines envisioned in last year's bill with the less-thorough
trace-detection technique. But the trace system has not been proved effective on
such a large volume of bags, and security experts say sophisticated bomb-makers
may be able to thwart it.
* Inadequate
preparation. To make trace detection more effective, the TSA plans to
open some bags and swab their contents. The system would enhance safety, but it
raises concerns about lengthy delays and lost or stolen property. Millions of
travelers will need to be told that bags must be unlocked and possessions could
be lost, yet no one has started that notification process. What's more, trace
detection is five to 50 times slower than machine screening.
* Unrealistic timetables. At Dallas/Fort Worth
International Airport, where the TSA plans to combine CAT-scans with trace
detectors, the agency hasn't even started construction to house needed
equipment, according to airport director Kevin Cox .
* Construction chaos. After months of delays at
Memphis International Airport, the TSA has ordered a huge renovation during the
peak Thanksgiving travel season, says airport director Larry Cox , who fears "a
total customer-service nightmare."
The
government has valid reasons for missing Congress' ambitious timetable: The
CAT-scan machines can't be manufactured quickly enough, and many airports need
extensive renovations to house them. Instead of acknowledging the problems, the
TSA still insists that it will meet the deadline and that the combined use of
CAT-scan machines and trace detection will provide the high level of protection
Congress wants.
The agency would better
serve the flying public with candid admissions about the cause of the security
delays, its efforts to solve them swiftly and the compromises travelers must
accept in the meantime.
TEXT OF INFO
BOX BEGINS HERE
Screening rates differ
Baggage-screening methods vary greatly in terms of speed
and cost.
Document 15 of 81. 