Funding OK Is Expected for O.C. Airport Security

Racing to comply with federal airport security rules that take effect Dec. 31, Orange County supervisors are expected today to spend $15.5 million to install a dozen bomb-detecting baggage screening devices at John Wayne Airport.

The move comes as airports across the nation are questioning whether they will make the deadline set last year by President Bush to screen all checked and carry-on baggage for explosives.

John Wayne Airport managers on Monday asked the Board of Supervisors to take emergency action so the equipment could be installed without normal bidding procedures. The streamlining is needed, officials said, to make sure all the security systems are ready for operation by the end of the year.

The airport has the funds available to make the security upgrades now and will seek a reimbursement from the federal government.

“John Wayne Airport is committed to providing a safe and secure facility for the traveling public and all visitors to the airport,” Airport Director Alan Murphy said.

Hensel Phelps Construction Co., which airport officials have recommended for the job, completed similar security projects in Denver, Los Angeles, San Jose, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and Orlando.

The detection equipment should cause passenger delays of no more than 15 minutes as their bags are checked, John Wayne officials said.

Without the equipment, passengers would have to wait up to 10 hours to board flights while their bags were searched by hand--as would be required under the federal rules.

Representatives of three of California’s largest airports told a U.S. Senate committee this month that they were having difficulty meeting the bag-screening deadline.

Officials for airports in Sacramento, San Francisco and San Diego complained that the rule requires the costly installation of devices that cause long lines, crowding and confusion. The equipment is cumbersome and has an unacceptably high false-alarm rate, those officials said.

Paul Green, chief operating officer for Los Angeles World Airports, told the committee that its four airports could meet the Dec. 31 deadline if enough machines were available and enough federal employees were available to operate the equipment. The agency oversees Los Angeles International, Ontario International, Palmdale and Van Nuys airports.

Officials at LAX declined Monday to say how many devices it would need to meet the federal mandate, citing security concerns.