Security Processes At 15 Airports To Be Scrutinized

The U.S. Department of Transportation Security Administration on Friday announced that it would study security procedures at 15 U.S. airports during the next six weeks as it works to develop improvements that can be implemented at the nation's 429 commercial service airports.

"While each airport is unique, we seek to achieve a system that emphasizes consistency, both in security and in the treatment of travelers," said DOT secretary Norman Mineta. "These studies will provide an important tool to enhance airport security systems nationwide."

TSA staff and what a DOT announcement described as "a team of business process consultants" will undertake the review. The team will study the movement of passengers and cargo through security systems and then determine what changes could provide better, more efficient service.

The airports to be studied are: Ted Stevens Anchorage International, Atlanta Hartsfield, Baltimore/Washington International, Boston Logan International, Charlotte/Douglas International, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth International, Gerald R. Ford International (Mich.), Louisville International, Minneapolis/St. Paul International, Mobile Regional (Ala.), New York JFK, Orlando International, San Francisco International and Spokane International.

TSA chief John Magaw pledged that the studies will not disrupt the movement of passengers and cargo through these airports and the work "will be mostly unnoticeable to the traveling public."

Meanwhile, a TSA spokesperson had no comment on a report in The Washington Post that described the development of a detailed security screening system that would use sophisticated software and linked databases to profile airline passenger information and assign a threat index or score to individual travelers. According to The Washington Post, TSA officials and technology companies, including Accenture and HNC Software, soon will begin testing at least two prototypes. However, deployment of the system could be years away, according to the article.