FAA to Tighten Checks on Airport Workers
The Federal Aviation Administration is ordering airports and airlines to conduct criminal background checks on up to 1 million employees with access to aircraft, jetways and other secure areas, the agency’s top official said Wednesday.
Until now, such background checks had been required only for employees hired after December 2000 at the 20 largest airports. FAA Administrator Jane Garvey said travelers and the airline industry can expect additional measures as authorities create a new aviation security system. The new background checks should be completed within nine months.
In her most extensive public comments since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Garvey told the National Press Club that a “collective failure”--encompassing intelligence, aviation security and other government agencies--had left the nation vulnerable to the terrorists.
“When the facts are in, there will probably be many in this town who will ask themselves, ‘Was there more we could have done?’ ” Garvey said. “We had established an aviation security system that was based on a far different threat. None of us imagined a threat of this sort.”
Garvey also said that she believed quick action to ground all planes Sept. 11 probably prevented more hijackings. “I have been persuaded by discussions with the FBI . . . that there were other [hijackings] that were thwarted,” she said.
The FAA’s primary missions are air traffic control and aviation safety, and its oversight of security has long been criticized as weak. Congress is working on legislation that would create a transportation security agency in the government, removing aviation security from the FAA’s jurisdiction. Garvey said she would support that step.
Addressing other concerns, Garvey said:
* The FAA is considering whether to require that checked bags on domestic flights be matched with travelers that board a plane. A precaution against bombs in checked luggage, bag-matching is required on all international flights. “There are discussions underway about how we would, operationally, make that happen,” she said. “We have to move in those directions.”
* The FAA is reviewing security at air traffic control facilities after a complaint by the National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. that 180 of 325 installations could be vulnerable to intruders. The union has asked for armed guards at every facility.
* New security measures have not been applied consistently at all airports. Many travelers have reported differences among security checkpoints, and a spot check by the FAA and the Transportation Department inspector general has found continued deficiencies in the screening of passengers.
The FAA head warned travelers to remain vigilant, saying that self-defense instructions some pilots have broadcast over cabin public address systems are not an overreaction. “In this kind of atmosphere, those are appropriate measures,” Garvey said.
