Air Safety Crackdown Is Costly but Correct

In ordering tougher security for America’s airlines, President Clinton has taken a right and responsible line. Even though the cause of the TWA crash that killed 230 people last week has yet to be pinned down, there should be no hesitation when it comes to the safety of air travel.

Passengers will find themselves familiar with the types of measures the president announced on Thursday. The Federal Aviation Administration ordered increased security across the nation last August in response to reports that terrorist threats to U.S. aircraft and interests in general had increased. Security levels were heightened again in October and January. The changes were not drastic but altered the airport routine for passengers.

At airports that had been ticketing cars left unattended near the terminals, for instance, the new regime called for immediate removal. Passengers were required to provide check-in personnel with a government-issued photo identification such as a driver’s license. The process took more time but improved security. By one estimate, the costs of last year’s security changes amounted to about $14 million for 84 airports around the country.

The explosion of TWA Flight 800 is a tremendous tragedy, whatever the cause, but perhaps the earlier changes and those imposed Thursday by the president either have prevented or will prevent similar disasters.

Significantly, Clinton and members of his administration reaffirmed that government investigators still do not know what caused the explosion in the Boeing 747 off Long Island. And they have not publicly speculated. Spokesmen for the National Transportation Safety Board and the FBI have never gotten ahead of the evidence in briefing reporters. Unfortunately that has not been true of some politicians, who have taken to the microphones with pronouncements ranging from the imminent recovery of many more bodies (wrong) to detection of explosive residue on a wingtip (discounted), creating a roller coaster of speculation. That adds nothing to the necessary debate over aviation security or to the peace of mind of Americans in general.

The president’s security initiative goes further than America’s airline industry has gone before, though not as far as carriers in many European and Middle Eastern nations. Under the new U.S. security regime, every airliner scheduled for an international flight or arriving from abroad will be fully inspected. Baggage will be X-rayed and matched to passengers before they can board domestic and international flights. More luggage will be hand-searched and more passengers interviewed. Baggage checking from airport hotels is out, and there will be no more curbside baggage check-in for international flights.

Clinton has high expectations for new detection equipment that will be expected to identify plastic explosives. But some reports on testing of the advanced technology say it has yet to prove thoroughly effective. More time-consuming and intrusive measures may be the only answer.

Clinton named Vice President Al Gore to head a review of aviation safety and gave his support to a congressional proposal for a government office to assist the families of crash victims.

But presidential directives mean nothing if they are not fully implemented. How is security increased if the airport ticket agent who asks for photo identification fails to check the photo? Sharp training and supervision are mandatory, and that will cost money. Passengers will see the higher costs in the price of their tickets. Obviously, it will be money well-spent.