29 Airlines Fined $1.6 Million for Security Lapses

The Federal Aviation Administration fined 29 airlines more than $1.6 million Wednesday for security lapses at passenger checkpoints, although officials said the violations have declined in the last year.

The civil penalties ranged from $1,000 against a handful of commuter carriers--the minimum for a single violation--to more than $200,000 apiece against American Airlines, Northwest Airlines and United Airlines for each having more than two dozen violations.

The penalties stemmed from failures by security guards at airport checkpoints to detect 236 mock weapons carried or hidden in carry-on baggage by undercover FAA officials. Most of the violations occurred between April and September of this year.

Effort Intensified

The agency collected more than $1 million in fines earlier this year as a result of violations that occurred in late 1987 and early 1988 as part of a stepped-up effort by the government to improve checkpoint security at major airports.

Despite the latest civil penalties, Transportation Department officials said the airlines, which are responsible for passenger screening at airports, have improved their detection of weapons.

According to FAA figures, the airlines in 1987 detected 78.9% of the mock weapons being passed through checkpoints by FAA undercover agents. During the first six months of this year, the success rate increased to 85.6% and during the July-September period, it improved to 88.9%.

Transportation Secretary James H. Burnley IV, however, told reporters that he is not satisfied with a failure rate in excess of 11%.

“The FAA will continue to test the airport security network to assure that it provides the protection the American public expects and deserves,” Burnley said. “Although the detection rate has improved since last year, I will not be satisfied until we achieve a 100% success rate in detecting weapons.”

The FAA declined to provide a breakdown of the detection rates at various airports or to disclose how many airports and which ones were checked.