BODY: ATLANTIC CITY --
The government faces an almost impossible task in setting up a system to examine
checked bags at airports for explosives by the end of next year, industry and
government officials said at an aviation security conference here.
Complying with the Dec. 31, 2002, deadline
imposed by Congress would require placing thousands of explosive-detection
machines in airports. This, in turn, may mean construction projects at a cost of
tens of billions of dollars. It may also force travelers to endure long waits
until the kinks are ironed out, experts said.
"I don't understand how it can be done" by the deadline, said Cathal
Flynn, the Federal Aviation Administration's former security chief.
FAA technical expert Rodger Dickey told one
seminar here that putting thousands of explosive-detection machines at airports
around the country would require an effort equal to the Manhattan Project, the
secret 1940s program to create an atomic bomb.
An executive at a firm that manufactures explosive-detection machines,
who asked that he not be identified, called the deadline impossible.
Only a limited number of bags are checked on
the 150 machines across the country. After Sept. 11, the FAA announced it would
mandate screening of all checked bags by the end of 2004. The two manufacturers
that had been certified to make the screening machines said that was the
earliest realistic deadline.
At least
2,000 machines will be needed to cover the more than 400 airports with
commercial flights.
In aviation security
legislation enacted Nov. 19, Congress ordered that the deadline be moved up to
next year. Some lawmakers said a hard deadline was the only way to ensure
compliance.
Participants at the FAA's
Aviation Security Technology Symposium this week cast doubts on Congress'
goal:
* Flynn said it took about $ 300
million to rebuild London's Heathrow Airport to accommodate explosive-detection
machines. That translates to about $ 3 billion to modify this country's 10
largest airports, he said. That does not include costs at the more than 400
remaining airports.
* Because such
construction projects take years, airports and airlines will have to make costly
temporary arrangements for the machines, possibly in parking areas or curbside,
Flynn said. These will add to passenger delays, officials said.
* Though they were unwilling to say so publicly, several
industry executives said the deadline cannot be met unless the government
immediately begins allotting money for new machines, which cost about $ 1
million each.
* Officials at InVision
Technologies and L3 Communications, the two firms certified to make the
machines, are making only a handful each month. Because it will take months to
ramp up production, they say no more than 1,200 machines can be produced by the
end of next year, far short of the number required.
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, whose agency is being given
control of aviation security, drew sharp criticism from Congress Tuesday when he
told reporters that he doubted short-term screening methods required under the
bill could be put in place by a Jan. 18 deadline. Since then, the Bush
administration has said it will do everything possible to meet the deadlines.
GRAPHIC: PHOTO, B/W, Rick Bowmer, AP;
Mineta: Criticized by Congress for remarks.
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