Wants To Take Over Airport ID Checks, Too
Private security companies
currently handle personal identification checks at US airports. If
officials with the Transportation Security Administration have
their way, however, those jobs will be soon occupied by TSA
uniforms -- they just have to talk Congress into paying for it.
George N. Naccara is the head of TSA operations at Logan
International Airport, and for the northeastern United States. He
outlined the plan while speaking at the Boston Globe Travel Show,
saying the request is just one of many efforts to deter terrorists
and hijackers.
"It's another layer of security," Naccara said. "I would start
it today if I could because I think it's a good idea."
Logan officials reportedly support the proposal. Before such a
move could be implemented, it's estimated as many as 1,400 TSA
officers would need to be added, Naccara said.
The agency can legally employ 45,000 uniformed workers. There
has reportedly been talk among several Democratic congressional
leaders, though, to raise or even remove that cap -- saying
security threats should dictate staffing levels, instead budgetary
concerns, according to the Boston Globe.
Naccara says there's nothing specifically wrong with the job
performance of the private sector employees that currently check
passengers' travel documents before they arrive at checkpoints --
but that "the agency is constantly looking to improve the rigor of
airport security, including extending TSA presence and vigilance
beyond the so-called sterile area between the checkpoint and
gates."
"Having the agency responsible for checkpoint security identify
passengers entering the sterile area makes complete sense," Logan
spokesman Phil Orlandella said.
The 'sterile' area is the space between the checkpoints and
gates. If security procedures have been properly followed, then
only airport workers with security clearances and passengers
cleared by TSA can enter it.
Logan International would likely be one of the first airports to
see the change if it is approved by Congress. Major carriers
support the proposal as they would stand to save millions by not
having to provide private security.
"We think it will yield improved security, and it also fits
congressional intent for the government to perform screening
functions," said Victoria S. Day, a spokeswoman for the Air
Transport Association.
Jenny Dervin, JetBlue Airways Corp. spokeswoman, acquiesced that
"TSA's proposed takeover of these responsibilities will benefit
JetBlue's cost-reduction efforts, but we have concerns that it may
negatively impact present TSA staffing levels, which are already
strained. Mandating additional responsibilities must be accompanied
by additional resources."
Senior member of the House
Homeland Security Committee US Representative Edward J. Markey is
an outspoken critic of the aviation-security industry. He said he
was "encouraged that the Bush administration has requested $60
million to hire the new travel-document checkers as part of the
TSA's next fiscal year budget."
These new checkers "will provide another layer of security" with
"special training to spot fraudulent documents and suspicious
activity, increasing the likelihood that a terrorist or troubled
individual will be intercepted before harming passengers," said
Markey.
Carl M. Rubin, partner with software consulting firm Monument
Data Solutions LLC, disagreed. "Any person with a pulse can check a
license against a ticket," he said. "It would be a waste of my tax
dollars to increase the cost of doing this."