Airport security

Snow globes on airplanes? TSA says no…

Security, , , ,

Each week on msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin blog I get to answer a reader’s question. This week’s topic: snow globes on airplanes.

During a recent trip to Disneyland, Camille Kohler’s 5-year-old daughter searched for the one souvenir she would buy and bring home with her to Anchorage, Alaska. After three days of consideration, she decided on a small snow globe from the popular It’s a Small World ride.

For the flight home, Kohler put the snow globe in her carry-on bag. But the water-filled souvenir never made it past the security checkpoint at Los Angeles International Airport.

“To their credit, the TSA agents were trying to keep the confiscation on the down-low so my daughter wouldn’t see they were taking the snow globe,” said Kohler. “They even looked for a way to empty it. But at that point in the day, I didn’t even want to bring it to my girl’s attention, causing a potential melt-down at the security gates.”

Now Kohler wants to know: “Does the TSA have a rule specifically prohibiting snow globes?”

The answer is yes.

“Snow globes of any size are not permitted in carry-on baggage because there is no way for our officers to accurately determine the volume of liquid,” said Transportation Security Administration spokesperson Greg Soule.

If you do want to travel with a souvenir snow globe that, like Kohler’s daughter, you have carefully picked out, the TSA recommends that you put it in your checked luggage or ship it home. Another option is to shop for a souvenir snow globe at a post-security shop in the airport.

Wondering if your vacation souvenir will make it through the security checkpoint? The TSA has a tool on its website to help travelers like Kohler figure out what will and won’t fly. Overhead Bin plugged in “snow globes” and was sent to a “Check only” page that discusses liquids but does not specifically mention snow globes. A holiday-related section of the TSA website, however, does specifically state that snow globes are not permitted in carry-on bags.

And don’t worry too much about that lost It’s a Small World souvenir. Like all Disney movies, this tale has a storybook ending: “I’m happy to report that I was able to find a replacement snow globe on the Disney web site,” said Kohler.

TSA introduces kid-friendly checkpoints nationwide

family travel, , ,

(From my post on msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin)

Earlier this week, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced that children under 13 years old soon will no longer have to remove their shoes at airport security checkpoints.

That’s great news for families, of course, but also for any traveler who has had to wait in line behind a 3-year-old balking at being parted from his Spider-Man sneakers.

I asked Transportation Security Administration spokesperson Lisa Farbstein to explain what families, children and general travelers need to know about the new kid-friendly checkpoint procedures.

Q: What will be different?

A: The modification is that we will allow kids 12 and under to leave their shoes on. We will also permit multiple passes through the metal detector and advanced imaging technology by children to clear any alarms as well as [employ] the greater use of explosives trace detection. The idea is that these changes in protocol will ultimately reduce — though not eliminate — pat-downs of children that would have otherwise been conducted to resolve alarms.

Q: Will there be exceptions?

A: Yes. Children may be required to remove their shoes, and could still undergo a pat-down, if anomalies are detected during security screening that cannot be resolved through other means. These changes will allow officers to better focus their efforts on passengers who are more likely to pose a risk to transportation while expediting the screening process.

Q: When will it start?

A: The changed procedures are already in effect at many airports, with full implementation expected by Sept. 26.

Q: Weren’t some airport already doing this?

A: In August, we tested the new procedures in a pilot at six airports: Boston, Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Houston (IAH) and Denver. Those pilot sites were selected based on airports that had a higher volume of travelers in the desired age range to allow for a better overall sample during our testing.

Q: What tweaks were done in response to the testing?

A: For security purposes, we can’t get into that. But here’s an interesting factoid: Children in the 12-and-under age range represent about 3 percent of all passengers, although during peak travel seasons at certain airports, children may make up about 8 percent of the passengers.

(Photo courtesy TSA)

What’s up with airport pat-downs?

Security, ,

Bing Travel wanted to know what’s up with airport pat-downs. Here’s what I found out for an article posted earlier this week.

What’s up with airport pat-downs?

News stories about airport security checks involving small children undergoing full pat downs, an elderly woman’s adult diaper being inspected and, most recently, some women of color having their natural hairdos scrutinized may have you wondering what you’ll encounter at the airport as you head back to school or work after summer vacation.

At most airports, it will be business as what has become usual: shoes off; laptops, liquids and IDs out; pockets emptied; a walk through a metal detector or scanner; and, if something’s amiss, arms stretched wide for an enhanced pat down.

While the modern-day pat down might make both the passenger and the Transportation Security Administration officer conducting the procedure uncomfortable, “At the end of the day, the comfort I am concerned with is the comfort of knowing I can turn on the evening news and find that no aircraft was compromised or went down because I did my job effectively,” said Valyria Lewis, a TSA officer at Memphis International Airport who is president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 555, covering Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina.

But the airport checkpoint experience is ever-evolving. Now a new set of changes is making its way through the system.

The TSA is testing programs at a few airports, installing new technology at few dozen airports and implementing new policies systemwide that might streamline the experience for some travelers and make it more or less of a hassle for others. Here is some of what’s in store:

Getting to know you

It’s still a bit surprising, but usually refreshing, when a TSA officer checking IDs breaks the “Just show me your papers” demeanor to ask a question about your day or to share a tidbit from theirs. The seconds-long pleasantry may be just that, but engaging you and drawing you out may also be part of what the TSA calls its “ongoing risk-based, multilayered security strategy.”

Right now, as part of that strategy, the TSA is testing an expanded behavior-detection pilot program at Boston’s Logan International Airport. If your Boston-originating flight takes you through the security checkpoint at Terminal A, you’ll be part of the test automatically. In what the TSA calls “casual greeting conversations” and others have dubbed “chat downs,” specially trained behavior-detection officers are asking each passenger a few extra questions as they go through the ID check.

They’re not all that interested in your answers, but in your behavior.

The TSA says some passengers may get selected for a longer, but “still limited” chat and that the results of this test will determine if the program spreads to other airports.

Kid-friendly checkpoints

TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein says a pilot program to test new screening procedures for children 12 and younger is under way at six airports: Boston; Atlanta; Miami; Orlando, Fla.; Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport; and Denver.

Why those airports? “The pilot sites were selected based on airports that had a higher volume of travelers in the desired age range to allow for a better overall sample during testing,” Farbstein said.

What will change?

Until now, children or adults who triggered an alarm at a screening machine were subject to a pat down. Under the new kid-friendlier screening procedure, children will be allowed to go back through the metal detector or the advanced imaging technology machine for “do-overs” to clear an alarm. Also, kids will be allowed to leave their shoes on.

The TSA still can require kids to remove their shoes or undergo a pat down if something seems amiss, but if the test works out, the program will spread to other airports.

Modest scanners

In a move to return modesty to passengers, the TSA is installing new, less-invasive software on the millimeter wave Advanced Imaging Technology machines — the so-called “naked scanners” — at 40 airports.

Instead of creating revealing, passenger-specific images, the machines will now produce a generic outline of a person while still showing if any items are concealed under clothing. If something shows up on the scanner, passengers would undergo an extra pat down on the specific area in question, for example, their wrist.

TSA officials say that upgraded software is already in place in Las Vegas; Atlanta; Baltimore; Tampa, Fla.; and many other airports. There are 241 machines with this software being installed throughout the U.S.; all are expected to be in place by fall.

Trusted traveler program

The TSA is scheduled to roll out yet one more test program this fall. This one is an identity-based, preflight screening program that may lead to a widespread “trusted traveler” program that could expedite the checkpoint experience for those willing to share some additional information about themselves with the government.

Participants in the first phase of the test will include several airports and a select group of passengers.

The pool of participants will include some travelers who already are part of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Trusted Traveler programs such as Global Entry, Sentri and Nexus. At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County airports, the test will include some members of Delta Air Lines’ frequent-flier program. At Miami International and Dallas/Fort Worth International airports, the test will include some frequent fliers from American Airlines.

If the program works out, the TSA plans to include other airports and other airlines, including United, Southwest, JetBlue, US Airways, Alaska and Hawaiian.

Will this make a difference?

You might or might not experience one of the new programs in your next trip to the airport, but the bottom line for the TSA remains catching “bad guys” and finding objects or materials that might be used to take down a plane.

So, security-wise, will these new programs make a difference?

“It can be hard to tell,” said Jeff Price, an aviation security expert and associate professor at the Metropolitan State College of Denver. “The TSA doesn’t release statistics on what it catches. But the [Government Accountability Office] will likely do a report at some point, and the public portion of that should give us a pretty good idea.”

Finding water at the airport

Air Travel, Food, Security, , , ,

Each Friday I have the great pleasure of answering travel questions sent in by readers to msnbc.com’s Overhead Bin blog.

This week the question was about water at the airport.

When Heather Snodgrass flies she likes to stay well-hydrated. But she’d rather not add to landfills by buying bottled water at the airport. “I usually see water fountains, but prefer to have a supply of water with me rather than take multiple trips back to a fountain.”

So in preparation for her next trip, Snodgrass asked Overhead Bin: “Can you travel with an empty bottle, such as sports top bottle, and refill it at water fountains past the TSA checkpoints? I want to avoid losing a great water bottle.”

The short answer is yes.

In fact, many airports around the country are actively encouraging travelers to bring their own empty water bottles along, in part because it’s time-consuming and expensive to cart away all those full or half-full bottles, cans and cups that passengers discard at the security checkpoints.

Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and a growing number of other airports around the country are installing beverage collection stations at the checkpoints to try to cut down on what gets carted off to landfills. “Travelers can pour beverages into the drains and keep the bottles,” said Steve Johnson of Oregon’s Portland International Airport.

For travelers like Snodgrass, who want to make sure they can find a place to fill a water bottle post-security, airports such as San Francisco International Airport and Chicago’s Midway and O’Hare airports are also installing special water bottle refill stations.

SFO has four “hydration stations,” and Chicago’s Midway and O’Hare airports each have two. (The Midway stations are at the entrance to concourses A and B; at O’Hare they are in Terminal 2.) The hands-free, sensor-activated stations at O’Hare also have counters that have been tallying the number of 16-ounce bottles diverted from landfills.

“Together, the two stations at O’Hare have saved 220,717 bottles,” since their installation in June and July 2010, said Gregg Cunningham of the Chicago Department of Aviation.

Advertising & airport checkpoint bins

Advertising, Air Travel, Airports, Security, ,

For my At the Airport column on USATODAY.com this month, I took a look at a program that puts advertising inside the airport checkpoint bins at more than two dozen airports – and how that just may help airports – and the TSA – make the checkpoint experience just a tiny bit better.

Next time you’re inching your way through the line at airport security checkpoint, take a look around.

Do the plastic bins where people plop their laptops, carry-on bags and slip-off shoes look worn and industrial gray or do they look crisp, white and new?

At the majority of the more than 400 U.S. airports, the checkpoints are stocked with those generic, government-issued gray bins. They’re boring, yes, but they do what the TSA needs them to do: they contain your stuff as it sits on the belt that passes through the x-ray machine.

But the checkpoints at more than two dozen airports have those crisp, white bins. In those airports the bins do not only what the TSA needs them to do, they also save the TSA time and money. And because there are advertisements inside these bins, they generate income for the airports.

Not bad for a bunch of recyclable plastic.

Post-9/11 need

The advertisement-bearing bins are the brainchild of Joe Ambrefe, CEO of Security Point Media (SPM) who came up with the idea not long after 9/11, while standing in a long line at an airport security checkpoint.

He realized everyone had to grab a bin and that an advertisement inside each bin was a sure-fire way for a company to reach the desirable demographic of business and leisure travelers.

Ambrefe worked up a plan to provide free bins (and carts to move those bins around) in exchange for the right to sell advertisements on the bins. He chose white bins because “color is an emotive issue and white is a happier color than industrial gray.” He also promised to replace the bins every 90 days with brand new units so that “the components are opening day fresh all the time.”

Testing began in 2007 and now the Bin Advertising Program is in operation Orlando, San Diego, Seattle-Tacoma, JFK, LaGuardia and 21 other airports nationwide and is approved by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for all airports.

The TSA likes the program because it saves the agency money: the free bins represent an overall savings of between $200,000 and $700,000 on the costs of replacing bins. And TSA spokesperson Greg Soule said the program also “reduced injuries associated with lifting bins and improved durability and aesthetics of the checkpoint equipment.”

Airports like the program because it’s generates a bit of extra money and helps improve the checkpoint experience for passengers.

At Los Angeles International Airport, one of the program’s first test sites, spokesperson Nancy Castles says ad revenues helped purchase “the long tables, seating, floor mats, wheeled bin carriers, stanchions, and other equipment that helps streamline the TSA passenger security screening process.” The airport also gets to place its own advertising in some of the bins and is currently promoting its LAX FlyAway bus service.

At Nashville International, an early test airport which officially signed up with the program in 2010, spokesperson Emily Richard said, “We have experienced significant and consistent improvement of the appearance of the checkpoint since SPM started managing the process.” She added that year-to-date income from the program is $7,500.

And in Houston, where the Hobby and George Bush Intercontinental airports joined the program in June, Houston Airport System’s concessions manager Randy Goodman described the benefits as “bright new bins and a streamlined process,” and a share of the advertising income that’s should net the airport about $26,000 for the first six months.”

Even better bins?

Ambrefe hopes to expand the bin advertising program to other airports and continues to tweak the system. He said that while the company has not considered providing separate bins for shoes –a suggestion put forth by some groups concerned about checkpoint health risks – “antimicrobial products for use at the checkpoints are in research.”

In the meantime, both Ambrefe and the TSA might make note of the checkpoint procedures in place at Canada’s Prince Rupert Airport, in northern British Columbia. The airport has color-coded bins for boots and shoes and, for the past 18 years, the security team has cleaned all the bins after each of the six daily flights.

“It’s nice to know that when you lay down your suit jacket or coat that the bin has not previously contained any dirty boots or other contaminated item,” said airport manager Richard Reed.

“The bins are cleaned to protect the health of the screening agents and the traveling public,” said team leader Virginia Toro. “We treat the checkpoint as we do our home: clean is the rule of the day.”

Here are the 26 airports currently in the TSA-approved Bin Advertising Program
Source: TSA

1. Jacksonville International Airport, Jacksonville, Florida
2. John Wayne-Orange County Airport, Santa Ana, California
3. Lafayette Regional Airport, Lafayette, Louisiana
4. Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California
5. Lovell Field Airport, Chattanooga, Tennessee
6. McGhee Tyson Airport, Knoxville, Tennessee
7. Nashville International Airport, Nashville, Tennessee
8. Ontario International Airport, Ontario, California
9. Reno/Tahoe International Airport, Reno, Nevada
10. Richmond International Airport, Richmond, Virginia
11. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Seattle, Washington
12. Tulsa International Airport, Tulsa, Oklahoma
13. Wichita Mid-Continent Airport, Wichita, Kansas
14. Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Charlotte, North Carolina
15. Denver International Airport, Denver, Colorado
16. Newark Liberty International Airport, Newark, New Jersey
17. John F. Kennedy International Airport, Queens, New York
18. LaGuardia Airport, Queens, New York
19. Orlando International Airport, Orland, Florida
20. Chicago Midway International Airport, Chicago, Illinois
21. Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois
22. San Diego International Airport, San Diego, CA
23. McGhee Tyson Airport, Louisville, Tennessee
24. Houston Intercontinental
25. Houston Hobby
26. Miami International Airport

How to avoid an airport security pat-down

Air Travel, Security, ,

 

Each week on msnbc.com’s new Overhead Bin I get to answer a reader’s question. I’m still pondering why one reader wanted to know how much cash is too much cash to travel with, but this week I tackled a classic: how to avoid an airport security pat-down.

Don and Kris Rasmussen of Weston, Wis. have two trips planned for the fall. But they’re starting now to fret about what will happen at the airport security checkpoint.

“We are just plain folks and are very uncomfortable with this ‘body feeling’ and X-ray business. Will we be groped? Is there any way we can get past this? It seems so degrading.”

With news stories about diapered seniors, young children and even former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld getting singled out by the Transportation Security Administration for additional screening, it’s no wonder the Rasmussens are worried.

But according to the TSA, “Less than 3 percent of passengers experience a pat-down.” The majority result from passengers alarming either the metal detector or the full-body scanner.

There’s no guaranteed method for avoiding a pat-down, but there are steps passengers can take to minimize their odds of being singled out.

“Passengers who are prepared for screening and do not alarm for prohibited items are less likely to require additional screening,” said TSA spokesperson Greg Soule.

Every travel expert and road warrior that Overhead Bin consulted agreed with the TSA on this one.

“I can’t say that I know of any tips other than what TSA says about taking everything out of your pockets, including your wallet,” said travel consultant Chris McGinnis.

“Remove any jewelry, spare change, belts or other metal objects that could set off the metal detector before you go through security,” suggests Anne Banas, executive editor of SmarterTravel.com.

Roz Schatman, an international business development manager, makes sure to wear a tight-fitted shirt to the airport “so there’s no doubt that only my body is inside.”

“The more it seems like you have your act together, the less likely you’ll stick out and potentially be pulled aside,” said Beth Whitman, founder of WanderlustAndLipstick.com and the author of the Wanderlust and Lipstick guides for women travelers.

“Complaining loudly about it or audibly questioning the competence of the TSA workers is a good way to get pulled aside for a more invasive search,” said Jennifer Miner, a mom who’s the co-creator and writer of the Vacation Gals blog. “Keep your opinions to yourself until you’re at least past the security checkpoint.”

Sometimes, there’s just no avoiding the pat down. Tom Stuker, the frequent-flyer recently in the news for flying his 10 millionth butt-in-seat mile, said “TSA does some random screening. So even if you never set the machines off you may be subject to a pat-down. It has happened to me.”

Finally, no matter how often you travel, it’s a good idea to review the TSA’s guide: How to get through the line faster. That way you won’t end up like the passenger recently pulled aside and arrested at the Baltimore airport for trying to take 13 knives through the security checkpoint.

TSA confirms: space aliens visit airports

Air Travel, Airports, Fun Stuff, , ,

One of my mother’s favorite sayings was “It could happen.” Not an otherwise woo-woo person, she’d say that whenever the topic of aliens came up, wait a beat and then change the subject.

So she would have been very interested to read the story about aliens and airports that I wrote for my USATODAY.com At the Airport column a while back.

Crop circle at Indiana's Huntington Airport, courtesy Travis McQueen

 

And she would have been VERY interested in reading the post on the TSA Blog yesterday. The one about TSA Space Alien Detection Officers (ADOs).

Alien being screened. Courtesy TSA

 

According to Blogger Bob (a real person or an …alien?):

….New intelligence suggests that space aliens with invisibility cloaks have been going through our checkpoints for years. We know they’ve been observing flight operations at some of our busiest airports, but we had no idea they were coming in.

It’s not entirely clear what their intentions are, but they need to be screened just like anybody else. We don’t mind space aliens visiting our airports. In fact we think it’s kind of cool. However, they need to go through security just like everybody else…

Whatever their motivation is, rest assured that  a new layer of security has been developed that will allow us to detect and screen these unique passengers. This new layer is our TSA Alien Detection Officer (ADO). ADOs are an elite new type of officer who has undergone unique training to use specially developed detection tools. You may have already seen some of these tools in use at airports and just not known what they were.

 

Yes, it was an April Fools’ Day joke. But you know what my mom would say. “It could happen.”

At TSA: airports can’t opt-out; workers can opt-in

Air Travel, Safety, ,

Lots of news from the TSA recently.

On Friday, TSA administrator John Pistole gave the OK to limited collective bargaining for Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) at the nation’s airports.

Right now, about 13,000 TSOs are being represented by one of two unions: the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).

But those unions can only offer personal, not collective, representation and are not allowed to bargain on behalf of the officers.

That’s about to change.

This spring, TSOs are scheduled to vote on whether they want exclusive union representation from one of those two unions – or no union representation at all.  If they do choose a union – and they probably will – Pistole’s new determination will allow that union to conduct bargaining on “limited, non-security issues relating to employment including shift bids, transfers and awards” but not on any issues related to security.

According to a TSA fact sheet, that means…

“…bargaining would not be allowed on security policies, procedures or the deployment of security personnel or equipment, pay, pensions and any form of compensation, proficiency testing, job qualifications or discipline standards. Officers would also be strictly prohibited from striking or engaging in work slowdowns of any kind.”

We’ll surely be hearing more about this in the next few weeks, but it’s interesting,  – and, some say, very meaningful – that this announcement comes so soon after John Pistole’s announcement that he’s effectively capping the program that for almost ten year years no has allowed airports to ask the TSA to hire private contractors to replace federal workers at the security checkpoints.

Here’s the story I wrote for msnbc.com about that: Ditch TSA? Airports no longer allowed to opt-out.

The Transportation Security Administration has said it won’t allow any more airports to “opt out” and bring in private security contractors in place of the agency’s federal workers. Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., who in the fall wrote a letter to 100 airports urging them to ditch TSA agents, said it is “unimaginable” that TSA would end “the most successfully performing passenger screening program we’ve had over the last decade.”

Despite staunch opt-out support from Mica — the new chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee — TSA Administrator John Pistole said Friday that he had reviewed the private contractor screening program as part of a more general review of TSA policies and decided not to expand the program beyond the current 16 airports because he did not see “any clear or substantial advantage to do so at this time.”

Since the TSA was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, federal law has allowed airports the option of using private screeners. But few of the nation’s roughly 460 commercial airports have done so.

Currently, San Francisco International, Kansas City International and 14 other airports use private contractors to screen airline passengers. Under the program, the private company conducts an airport’s passenger screening according to TSA’s rules and policies and under TSA supervision.

“TSA will continue to sustain the program at the current level to compare the effectiveness of federal vs. private screeners,” said TSA spokesperson Greg Soule. “The information we have to date shows the performance of TSA officers and private screeners is comparable.”

‘Flabbergasted’
Several airports had been pursuing the use of private screeners. Gary Cyr, director of Missouri’s Springfield-Branson National Airport, said he was “flabbergasted” by the two-sentence TSA memo he received Friday letting him know that the airport’s application to “opt out” of the federal passenger screening program had been denied.

“We got no response as to why, what for or otherwise,” said Cyr. “It’s the shortest important letter I ever got.”

Five other airports — all in Montana — also were looking to use private security screeners and received the same response Friday from the TSA. “Basically it was a form letter saying that our application had been denied because there would be no benefit to TSA,” said Cindi Martin, director of Montana’s Glacier Park International Airport.

Some government officials and unions representing TSA workers applauded Pistole’s decision. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., a ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security, said in a statement that ending the acceptance of new applications for the program “makes sense from a budgetary and counterterrorism perspective.”

“The nation is secure in the sense that the safety of our skies will not be left in the hands of the lowest-bidder contractor, as it was before 9/11,” said John Gage, president of the American Federation of Government Employee, in a statement. The union represents TSA screeners.

Mixed reaction
Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, which is actively organizing TSA officers at some airports, also thinks Pistole did the right thing. “It keeps this important work in the hands of federal employees, where it belongs,” Kelly said in a statement.

But in Washington, D.C., where more than 200 airport staff members were attending a legislative conference, Greg Principato, president of Airports Council International–North America, said his organization opposes the TSA’s stance. “Nobody here is happy about Pistole’s decision. Even airports that had no interest in opting out aren’t happy. They thought those airports that want the option should be able to pursue that.”

Principato said he is keeping an eye on the 16 airports already in the program. “We didn’t think TSA would make the move to not let anyone else in. We hope they won’t expand on the mistake by shrinking the current program.”

Decisions, decisions
In the meantime, several airports that were considering the screening partnership program are contemplating their next moves.

“We still plan to opt out,” said Larry Dale, airport director at Orlando Sanford International in Florida, who planned to file his airport’s application this week. “My guess is they’ll send it back saying they’re not taking applications. But we’re taking advantage of something we’re allowed to do. We’re put too much time and investment into researching this not to go forward.”

“We’re just not sure what to think at this point,” said Chris Jensen, airport director at Missoula International. “So we’re going to wait and watch.”

Martin of Montana’s Glacier Park International Airport said her airport may re-apply. “The program is not dead. The reason our airport authority applied to the screening partnership program was because of TSA staffing cuts at our airport and customer service issue. Those issues still haven’t been resolved.”

Pistole nixes TSA privatization; LAX saves butterflies

Security, , , ,

Close to a dozen airports around the country have applied for – and were planning to apply for –the TSA’s Screening Partnership Program (SPP), which allows airports to replace government screeners with those employed by TSA-approved private companies.  [See my story: Toss the TSA?]

16 airports, including those in San Francisco and Kansas City, are currently part of that SPP program and seem pretty happy with it. But last Friday TSA administrator John Pistole issued a memo saying he will not allow the program to expand.

“These airports will continue to be regulated by TSA and required to meet our high security standards,” Pistole said, “However, to preserve TSA as an effective, federal counterterrorism security network, SPP will not be expanded beyond the current 16 airports, unless a clear and substantial advantage to do so emerges in the future.”

TSA employees who feared losing their jobs to out-sourcing, are pleased with Pistole’s plan. But the decision doesn’t sit well with John Mica (R-Fla) who has been actively urging airports to “opt-out” of TSA-staffed screening. Mica just became chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and plans to launch an investigation into the matter.

Meanwhile, at Los Angeles International Airport, one of the airports considering the TSA ‘opt-out’ program, there was some good news about butterflies.

In addition to terminals and runways, there’s a 200-acre butterfly habitat at LAX designed to reintroduce and protect the coastal buckwheat plant, which is the only food the El Segundo Blue butterfly eats.

A seasonal field study and analysis of the butterfly was recently completed and it shows that, in 2010, the population of El Segundo Blue butterflies was somewhere between 111,000 and 116,000; and increase of about 30% over 2009.

Toss the TSA? 16 airports have done it; others mulling it over.

Airports, Security,

[An edited version of this story appears on msnbc.com: Airports toy with the idea of tossing the TSA.]

Writing a “We want a replacement” letter to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) tops the post-holiday to-do list of Larry Dale, president of Orlando Sanford International Airport.

“All of our due diligence shows it’s the way to go,” said Dale.

Along with Glacier Park International Airport in Kalispell, MT and several other airports around the country, Sanford International has decided to ask TSA to turn day-to-day airport screening duties over to a private firm.

“The TSA has grown too big and we’re unhappy with the way it’s been doing things. My board is sold on the fact that the free enterprise system works well and that we should go with a private company we can hold directly accountable for security and customer satisfaction,” said Dale.

In response to passenger complaints and encouragement from elected officials such as Rep. John Mica (R-Fla), who has referred to TSA’s “army of more than 67,000” as a “bloated, poorly focused and top-heavy bureaucracy,” airports in Charlotte, Los Angeles and even the Washington, D.C. metro area are among other airports toying with tossing the TSA as well.

This despite the fact that opt-out airports realize no cost savings: “TSA issues the RFP [request for proposal] and selects and manages the contractor” that steps in, said Michael McCarron, Director of Community Affairs at San Francisco International Airport, one of the first airports to switch to private screeners.

Nor will passengers at opt-out airports be able to sidestep the hassles of what many feel are far-too invasive security checkpoint procedures. According to TSA spokesperson Greg Soule, at the more than 450 commercial airports in the United States, “TSA sets the security standards that must be followed and that includes the use of enhanced pat downs and imaging technology, if installed at the airport.”

Still, airports studying the opt-out program believe there may be benefits worth pursuing.

“While Los Angeles World Airports has always enjoyed a very successful relationship with the TSA at our airports, we aim to ensure that the highest level of security is balanced by the most passenger-friendly service possible. Contracting private screeners could be a method to achieve this goal, and it is an option we are currently exploring,” said Nancy Suey Castle, a LAWA spokesperson.

Federal vs. Private: not a new option

The idea of switching checkpoint responsibilities from TSA screeners to employees of private firms is not new.

When the TSA was created, in 2001, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ASTA) mandated that a pilot program be put in place by November 2002 to allow screening by private companies under federal oversight.

Five airports signed up immediately: San Francisco International Airport, Kansas City International Airport, Greater Rochester International Airport, Jackson Hole Airport and Tupelo Regional Airport.

Eleven other airports, including Sioux Falls Regional Airport in South Dakota, Florida’s Key West International Airport and seven airports in Montana, have joined TSA’s Screening Partnership Program (SPP) since then.

“We’re very good at what we do,” said Gerry Berry, president of Covenant Aviation Security, the private screening company hired by the TSA for San Francisco International, Sioux Falls Regional and several airports in Montana. “By law our screeners have to get the same pay and benefits as government screeners and we have to do an equal or better job.”

Airport officials say few travelers notice whether the people doing the checkpoint scanning and the pat-downs work for the TSA or a private company. But so far none of the 16 SSP airports has chosen to opt back into the federal screening program.

“We love our arrangement,” said Ray Bishop Director of the Jackson Hole Airport in Wyoming.  “It delivers better customer service and security.”

Unlike government workers, notes Mark VanLoh, director of the Kansas City International Airport, problem employees working for contract screening companies “can be removed immediately.” And when there is an issue, VanLoh appreciates being able to call up the president of the private screening company. “Because I am a client, I usually get a return call immediately. We are all in the customer service business, so that’s a nice thing to have.”

The bottom line, says SFO’s Michael McCarron, is that “we feel our passengers are as safe as at any other airport. And by allowing [the private screening company] to handle the personnel management of the screening process, the TSA staff at SFO can focus its attention on security issues.”

Federal or private screeners: which way is better?

ACI-NA, which represents most all U.S. airports, is in favor of airports having the option to participate, or not, in TSA’s screening partnership program. Beyond advising airports about liability and other opt-out issues, “It’s up to the individual airports to determine whether or not participation is in their best interest” said Christopher Bidwell, ACI-NA’s vice-president of security and facilitation.

Airports currently in the SPP program do share their experiences with others, but Bidwell says although there have been two reports, one completed in 2004 and another in 2006, that show “there were some efficiencies under the private model…it would be helpful to have another study to shed new light.”

Many of the 200 airports that received a letter from Rep. Mica in November urging them to switch to private screening companies may be waiting for such a study.

At Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, spokesperson Allan Siegel said “There are no discussions about using a private company to handle screenings.”

Detroit Metropolitan Airport spokesperson Scott Wintner said “We’re decidedly not interested in going back to private screening…We’re very happy with the service TSA provides to our customers!”

And Patrick Hogan at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport said after receiving the letter from Congressman Mica, “Our board discussed private screening in response to one of our 2011 strategic plan initiatives of keeping security wait times to 15 minutes or less. A private firm would still have to follow all TSA regulations and procedures, so it’s really just a matter of whether they could do the job more efficiently, streamlining the process. At this point, we don’t have a clear sense of whether that would be the case.”

For his part, Stewart Baker, a former official with the Department of Homeland Security and the author of “Skating on Stilts: Why We Aren’t Stopping Tomorrow’s Terrorism, is skeptical private screening is the way to go. “Ordinarily, as a Republican, I’d be more enthusiastic about more privatization. But private screeners won’t solve the problems we have. It may just create some new ones.”

“Contracting with private screening companies offers staffing flexibility and a few other advantages,” said Robert Poole, director of transportation policy for the Reason Foundation, a free market think-tank, “But the system is still very centralized and run too much by TSA.”

“The screening partnership program may be a step in the right direction,” said aviation consultant Michael Boyd, of Colorado-based Boyd Group International, “But ultimately, it doesn’t change the fact that people at the top are idiots. The real problem is that TSA needs to be totally rebuilt.”

“Regardless of who’s performing security, they’re working with a government process that is generally outdated and less efficient,” said Steve Lott of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The international organization, which represents the airline industry, recently unveiled a proposal for a redesigned “security checkpoint of the future” that uses biometric data to speed travelers through the airport experience. “We need to think a little more long term here,” said Lott.

What’s next?

Late last month, in an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said security measures now in place are “objectively safer” for airline passengers and will continue to be part of the airport experience for “the foreseeable future.”

Also last month, Rep. John Mica was named chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where he will surely continue to press for TSA reform while continuing to urge airports to opt-out of the federal screening program.

But real change, notes the Reason Foundation’s Poole, could from Congress. “2011 is the 10th anniversary of both the 9/11 attacks and the TSA. There’s a good chance we’ll have TSA reauthorization in Congress that will provide the opportunity to take a look at how TSA is working.”

In the meantime…

Meanwhile, back in Florida, Larry Dale of the Sanford Airport expects to have private screeners on duty in less than a year. “I’ve talked with John Mica, who is the congressman for our district, and we expect things to move along in an orderly fashion.”

That timeframe may prove unrealistic.

Cindi Martin, airport director of Glacier Park International Airport in Montana said her airport sent the TSA an SPP application in October 2009.

“We believe that for GPI this is best for the traveling public. Security standards will be met and the airport will have more input on staffing and customer service,” said Martin.

However, along with three other Montana airports, Martin reports GPI is still waiting for action.

And she says that delay is creating a new set of problems.

Knowing that a private contractor will eventually take over, “TSOs are retaliating against authority and the airport management staff,” said Martin, “And we’re getting no help from TSA management.”

[An edited (better?) version of this story appears on msnbc.com: Airlines toy with the idea of tossing the TSA.]

Note: After this story appeared on msnbc.com, I’ve received an email from Valyria N. Lewis, President of AFGE Local 555, which represents TSA workers in four states.  In responding to some of the points made in the story, she addresses the comment made by Cindy Martin, airport director of Glacier Park International Airport in Montana, about “TSOs retaliating against authority and the airport management staff.”

Ms. Lewis said:

Put yourself for just a moment, inside the mind of that officer, who from day to day, does not know if they will have a job, or if their child will have a meal, or if their new insurance would cover their child’s rare medical condition.  Place your feet in the shoes of the officer, who when told that their airport will privatize; don’t know if they will be among the millions of people, dreading the thought of receiving unemployment benefits that teeter on the vote of agenda driven republicans. Am I surprised that the employees are acting out; absolutely not.  Change all by itself is uncomfortable, but Uncertainty, when it comes to providing for your family is unbearable.  I would think the very idea would be stressful enough for me to not be able to focus on my day to day duties.  I sincerely hope that this pressure is not affecting their performance of their screening duties.  I can only imagine the amount of sleep lost with the worry.  I pray that the officials, who make these decisions, consider these things.