Progress on airport security must continue

We hear a lot about airport security these days, but how much of it actually makes sense?

Are airports "screening" or "inspecting" baggage? What are these new explosive detection devices and when will we start seeing them in airports across the country? And just when will all these security deadlines actually go into effect?

The government’s airline security response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has been confusing at times. But progress is being made in the area of training airport screeners. Although airline security won’t be in the hands of the federal government until Feb. 17, the Transportation Security Administration announced last week it will hire more than 30,000 screeners to fill posts at 429 airports. Better yet, these new screeners will get nearly twice as much training as current screeners and receive higher salaries.

The training regimen appears to be adequate, though training will undoubtedly have to be updated on a regular basis to keep up with new security risks as they arise. Among the requirements: 40 hours classroom training, 60 hours of on-the-job training and passing a competency test before starting work. (It was reported in October that seven out of 20 screeners at Washington Dulles International Airport failed their annual tests.)

It is disturbing to learn, though, that the two companies which make the explosives detection machines have yet to receive an order from the federal government. As U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee pointed out, Congress worked hard to make sure the money for the machines was provided in the legislation. Authorities better get moving. They have until the end of the year to get the machines installed and working — that’s when the deadline for all baggage being inspected, instead of merely "screened," goes into effect.

A serious approach to airline and airport security requires examining current procedures and implementing better ones at every level. That’s going to cost money. But eliminating airline travel isn’t an option. Neither is a mediocre security plan at our nation’s airports.

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