WashingtonWire - 2004-07-19
TSA: Airport Workers To Be Screened Like Passengers
Workers at airport restaurants, souvenir shops and bookstores who operate behind security checkpoints at U.S. airports now must undergo the same screening as departing passengers, under a new directive by the Transportation Security Administration.
The order ends what such lawmakers as Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) called a weak link in airport security. Before the directive, some airports relied on background checks rather than day-to-day screening of airport workers, who could gain access to secure areas merely by flashing an identification badge. "I'm pleased that TSA has finally taken steps to close these gaping security loopholes," said DeFazio, the senior Democrat on the House transportation subcommittee on aviation. The policy change also will reduce the number of identification badges issued and further secure doors beyond checkpoints that access aircraft and tarmacs.
The new rules require workers to pass through metal detectors and subject bags to screening on their way to work. Most airport employees report to work during off-peak hours, so additional screenings aren't expected to cause delays at security checkpoints, TSA said. "These orders are designed to fortify security and identify and disrupt potential threats to civil aviation," TSA spokesman Mark Hatfield Jr. said. The rules also are coupled with plans by DeFazio and Congressman John Mica (R-Fla.), who chairs the aviation subcommittee, to propose legislation requiring airport employee badges to include biometric identification measures, such as fingerprinting and eye scans. They also want to make identification cards uniform. Only 11 of the nation's 435 commercial airports are using such biometric scanning, Mica said.
The Association of Flight Attendants, the world's largest flight attendant's union, applauded the new daily screening requirements. "The existing policy has long been a gaping hole in the security net that TSA has cast over our nation's air passenger terminals," said AFA president Pat Friend. "This change recognizes that any person, whether wittingly or unwittingly, may pose a potential risk."
FAA Okays Audit Standards for U.S. Codeshare Partners
U.S. airlines may hire approved auditors to conduct safety checks to ensure their foreign-flagged codeshare partners are following international standards, the Federal Aviation Administration ruled on July 2.
The International Operational Safety Audit program was devised by Geneva-based International Air Transport Association, which represents more than 270 airlines comprising 95 percent of international airline traffic. IATA spent two years developing the system, which independently evaluates carriers' organization and management, flight operation, aircraft engineering and maintenance, cabin operations, ground handling, cargo operations and operational security.
The U.S. Department of Transportation requires U.S. airlines to audit their codeshare partners. FAA's announcement will permit U.S. carriers to hire an IATA-approved auditor to conduct the review rather than performing the examination themselves. "IOSA creates the first global industry benchmark for safety, while removing the inefficiency of repetitive auditing," said IATA CEO Giovanni Bisignani. "Today's announcement is not only an approval but a validation of the joint commitment by FAA and IATA to improving global aviation safety."
FAA administrator Marion Blakey said FAA's approval of the audit program will help U.S. carriers ensure that codeshare partners are meeting international safety standards. "This new audit accreditation program is an important step toward achieving a single international set of audit standards that will make flying safer for passengers here and around the world," Blakey said. FAA said audits by approved examiners will be valid for two years.