WASHINGTON (REUTERS)–The federal government assumed responsibility from the airlines Sunday for airport passenger and baggage screening. This was a critical step for the Bush administration in its overhaul of aviation security in response to the Sept. 11 hijacked aircraft attacks.
The Transportation Department met the congressionally-imposed deadline for taking over the contracts for services provided by dozens of security companies that man screening checkpoints at more than 420 airports.
While not noticeable to passengers, the move was a necessary step in the multi-billion-dollar transition to an all-government force of at least 30,000 workers that will gradually replace the private firms between May and next November.
That dramatic shift was an important example of how the government is exercising its authority to try to protect the nation from another terrorist attack, even if it means removing private industry to get the job done. The Bush administration opposed the creation of a federal work force to perform screening operations when the matter was before Congress.
While law enforcement has not cited any screening lapses that might have allowed the suspected Sept. 11 hijackers to board four airliners, the low-wage, high-turnover business has been identified as a key security vulnerability.
In recent months under the government’s “zero-tolerance” policy for aviation security lapses, breeches at screening checkpoints have prompted the evacuation of concourses at major airports in New York, San Francisco and Chicago.
Officials from the Transportation Department and the Federal Aviation Administration spent the past month negotiating contracts with airlines and more than 60 security firms, some of which will get paid higher wages than they earned while working for commercial carriers.
“It is a very significant event in bringing enhanced security to America’s aviation system,” Deputy Transportation Secretary Michael Jackson told reporters at a briefing last week on the transition.
Hundreds of interim federal security personnel, on loan from the FAA and trained for screening operations, were dispatched to airports to oversee the private services until permanent government security managers are hired.
The interim officials, followed by permanent managers as they are gradually put into place, will work closely with airport authorities to evaluate screening routines that balance post-Sept. 11 security demands with passenger convenience.
They will report to the newly created Transportation Security Administration, which will coordinate the massive government screening force.
One priority of that agency is to closely observe and tighten procedures for searching passengers and airline flight-crew members signaled out for additional security checks.
There have been complaints to federal authorities recently from female flight attendants and passengers who claimed they were groped by screeners.
“There is no excuse for that,” John Magaw, director of the Transportation Security Administration and a former head of the U.S. Secret Service said. “We’re going to correct that right away. There are proper ways to search and pat down. We’re not going to be patting down females with males and vice-versa.”
That controversy has drawn the attention of key lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee who has asked transportation officials to clarify the policy on pat-downs.
The department has created an executive position within the new security agency to address complaints from passengers and aviation workers in this and other areas.
Separately, the government will work over the next six weeks to replace Argenbright Security Inc. at all airports where the embattled firm performs screening services.
A unit of British-owned Securicor Plc., Atlanta-based Argenbright holds about 40 percent of the screening market domestically. Argenbright has had a number of high-profile security lapses in Philadelphia in recent years. The company has pledged to work with authorities for a smooth transition.
