FAA Directs U.S. Airlines to Boost Security

The Federal Aviation Administration, responding to an eruption of terrorist incidents, directed U.S. airlines Tuesday to tighten security procedures to better protect travelers.

The agency told the airlines to immediately discontinue curbside baggage check-ins for international flights and to refuse any baggage on both domestic and international flights that does not come from ticketed passengers.

The FAA also announced that on selected air routes, the airlines will be asked to immediately undertake:

--”A visible increase” in the physical examinations of carry-on bags after they pass through X-ray equipment.

--A positive match of all passengers and bags.

--Either a 24-hour hold or an inspection by X-ray or by hand of all freight, cargo and mail on all flights on these routes carrying passengers. The FAA said this provision will not apply to perishable items from known shippers.

“We’re asking them to do it voluntarily now,” Transportation Department spokesman Bob Marx said, “but we will be telling them to do it” later, when new official FAA security directives can be formally issued.

Also on Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Hanford Dole sent President Reagan a list of options for increasing security on airliners and at airports. Reagan has made no decision yet on the recommendations, which include not only tighter procedures for screening baggage but also increased training for airline personnel and additional sky marshals.

The government’s moves were made after a series of terrorist actions that began June 14 with the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 and also included bombings at Frankfurt and Tokyo airports and the possible sabotage Sunday of an Air-India jumbo jet.

Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday approved its version of legislation to toughen laws on international airport security. The measure calls for the State Department to study foreign airports and publish a travel advisory on those where security is lax.

Amendment by Lantos

Included in the legislation is an amendment by California Rep. Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo) that would give the secretary of state the authority to bar U.S. carriers from landing at any airport that also allows landings by airlines from nations deemed to be high security risks.

At an earlier committee hearing, Capt. Tom Ashwood, director of security for the Air Line Pilots Assn., urged Congress to approve an additional $20 million for FAA security research and programs. Ashwood cautioned that “the hole in the system is in checked baggage and cargo.”

Rodney Wallis, director of security for the International Air Transport Assn., also told the committee that “we need to pay attention to the vulnerability of aircraft on the ramp.”

Wallis said airlines often are forced to relinquish control of their aircraft in many countries where government-approved agents are awarded contracts to service airplanes on the ground.

“If we have no control over the people servicing the aircraft, then we are at risk,” he said.