John Wayne Ready to Install $1-Million Baggage Scanner

In another step toward strengthening terminal security, John Wayne Airport plans to install in time for the year-end holiday rush a scanner that searches for explosives, contraband and flammable materials in baggages.

The purchase of the $1-million scanner was planned before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But officials said the new machine fits into its larger post-attack security plan, which includes more sheriff’s deputies and private security guard patrols in the terminal and parking areas.

The InVision CTX explosive detection system arrived at the airport this month, and officials have been displaying it in one of the main terminals.

For some travelers, the 4 1/2-ton, cargo-truck-sized machine is a welcome sight.

“It’ll make me feel much safer,” said Mike Burbach, 30, of Denver as he waited for a security officer to search his briefcase and luggage before he boarded a flight to Phoenix. “I feel like they should X-ray every bag.”

The machine will be used to randomly examine checked luggage. Currently, workers randomly check bags by hand--a process that will continue. Officials said the scanner will allow more luggage to be examined.

Passengers will still be screened--along with their carry-on bags--before they board their planes.

Employees of John Wayne’s 11 air carriers as well as Globe Security, which provides security services for the airport, will undergo three weeks of training on the detection system beginning Monday, said Ann McCarley, spokeswoman for John Wayne Airport.

The machine, purchased by the Federal Aviation Administration, will be in Terminal B, McCarley said. All 11 commercial airline carriers are urging the FAA to buy a second machine for Terminal A.

With an average of 21,500 passengers daily, airport officials hope the machines will speed up the search process. The machine screens up to 500 bags per hour.

The system takes projection X-rays for each bag that moves through it--alerting security officials to anything that appears to be an explosive.

According to its maker, InVision Technologies Inc., the system has an “extremely low” false alarm rate.

John Wayne Airport is among 48 major airports in the nation, including Los Angeles International, that have the scanners.

Since Sept. 11, the county has installed additional screening devices for baggage and passengers. Vehicles entering parking lots and loading zones are subject to searches. A local National Guard unit patrols the terminals.

According to a report prepared for the Board of Supervisors last week, security costs at John Wayne have increased $1.3 million since the September terrorist attacks.

But the report was finished before Congress voted last week to federalize most baggage and passenger screening employees.

The law imposes a passenger fee of $2.50 for each leg of a one-way flight, not to exceed $5, to help pay for the federalized system. It will be the first passenger ticket fee to be charged by John Wayne Airport.

The report said passenger loads at John Wayne are about 10% below last year’s levels.

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