Passengers Would Be Screened After Arrival At Larger Airports

TSA is mulling a plan that would eliminate security checkpoints at at least 150 small airports, opting to screen those passengers after they arrive at a larger airport.

The Washington Post reports that the idea is not a new one. It was first proposed by TSA two years ago, and was blasted by critics as an attempt by the agency to coerce Congress to increase its funding.

A TSA spokesman said that no decision has been made on the plan. “There has been no decision to eliminate passenger screening at any federalized U.S. airport,” TSA spokesman Michael Bilello said in a statement. “Every year as part of the federal budget process TSA is asked to discuss potential operational efficiencies — this year is no different.” He described the discussions as "predecisional" and said that any closure of security checkpoints "would not take place without a risk assessment to ensure the security of the aviation system."

Mary Schiavo, former inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation, told the paper that even if the closure would affect only one half of one percent of the flights each day, as TSA claims, "that's a lot of flights." She envisioned a scenario in which terrorists "took out 10 regional flights in one day ... You've had the largest loss of live, other than 9/11, in an aviation accident in decades."

Senate Commerce Committee spokesman Frederick Hill said that the idea has been proposed by TSA "for many years," but that Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) "would expect TSA to engage with the Senate and House committees of jurisdiction if consideration of such a significant change to security advances beyond a preliminary discussion."

(Image from file)

FMI: Original report