Airports Fail Security Test; FAA Vows Crackdown

The Federal Aviation Administration said Wednesday that it will crack down on airport security after undercover federal agents boarded aircraft unchallenged and roamed tarmac areas and airplanes in recent tests.

The FAA said it will work with the nation’s 78 largest airports over the next six weeks to check the state of access security. The FAA “will run aggressive tests at the conclusion of that period,” the agency announced.

The Dallas Morning News reported Wednesday on a letter the FAA had sent to airports nationwide.

“During recent surprise exercises, federal agents were able to sneak 46 times through security doors at four major airports and then walk around on the tarmac, boarding 51 airplanes unchallenged,” the newspaper wrote.

The FAA declined to confirm the numbers but issued a copy of the letter with numbers and identifying information blacked out.

FAA aviation security chief Cathal Flynn warned in the letter that it may become necessary to post guards at individual aircraft if further tests show that intruders can still board aircraft unchallenged.

“Allowing intruders to piggyback through access doors, not challenging intruders on the ramp and intruders being able to get aboard aircraft combine to make a significant vulnerability,” Flynn wrote.

Sources told the Morning News that none of the nation’s five largest airports, which include Los Angeles International, was among those that failed the test.