Editorial: Bush Administration Lacks Airline Security Leadership

Three years after Al Qaeda demonstrated to monstrous effect how easily U.S. airline security could be compromised, the Bush administration still has not done enough to address our domestic aviation security shortcomings.

While it was fairly quick to establish the Transportation Security Administration and to federalize passenger screener personnel so that they could do a better job of screening the screeners, the Bush administration has not yet made some very basic moves to ensure airline safety:

•Authorities still are trying to figure out how best to coordinate watch lists, and they have not yet publicized procedures for those passengers whose names wrongly end up on the no-fly lists.

•Cargo holds are not properly inspected and holds have not yet been blast-proofed.

•Airlines, which have hardened cockpit walls and doors, still have not installed cameras that show pilots the other side of the cockpit door.

•State-of-the-art weapons and explosives detection equipment still needs to be installed at all airports.

•Airport perimeters have yet to be fully secured.

While screeners effectively have stripped business travelers of their fingernail clippers, the focus must remain on screening each passenger as thoroughly and quickly as possible.

Lately, a good deal of energy and expense is being put into creating a two-tier screening system that would expedite travel for frequent travelers willing to submit to pre-screening. The idea is to cut lines and hassle for those who register, but it doesn't make good sense, when it comes to security, for screeners to give less scrutiny to registered travelers who could be registered terrorists.

It certainly doesn't make sense to compromise the security of all for the convenience of a few, particularly when that convenience amounts to little more than leaving the grandmother and grandchildren in the longer line so the businessman can get on the same plane a few minutes faster.

Creating E-ZPass lanes for frequent travelers is conceptually appealing to the business traveler, but compromises security. Perhaps a better way to alleviate lines, while giving every passenger proper scrutiny, is to use the Disney Fast Pass. In this scenario, when passengers check in at a kiosk or online, they are given a five-minute window to go through security, eliminating the need to stand in long lines.

The Bush administration's other misguided security efforts to arm pilots with handguns and airliners with anti-aircraft missile defense systems will create more vulnerability, not less.

David Meyer is editor-in-chief of BTN.