U.S. Lets Airlines, Security Company Continue Dealings
A company whose problems have become synonymous with lapses in security is likely to keep providing screeners at some airports when the government takes over from the airlines Sunday, government and industry officials said.
Last week, the Transportation Department announced it would not contract with Argenbright Security Inc. after the government assumes direct control of airport passenger screening checkpoints.
However, later in the week, the department quietly issued a notice permitting airlines to continue to deal with Argenbright and be reimbursed by the government in cases in which no other company can be found.
The government’s difficulty in getting Argenbright out of the security equation illustrates the challenges the new Transportation Security Administration faces in taking charge of checkpoints at 429 airports with regular airline service.
“Ideally, we would like to cut Argenbright out, but we don’t have the manpower,” said a federal official who asked not to be identified. “The airlines will act as a middleman for us.”
Argenbright is the nation’s largest airport security company and the sole contractor at 15 airports. In the West, Denver International is the largest such airport.
It was unclear Wednesday how many airports would continue using Argenbright screeners after this weekend, but industry and government officials said it could be more than the 15 where the company has a monopoly.
“We are ready and prepared to work with [federal] officials to assure the safety and convenience of the flying public,” said company spokeswoman Cynthia Faulkner.
Argenbright has been linked to a series of highly publicized security breaches. Last month, thousands of passengers were evacuated from San Francisco International Airport after an Argenbright screener lost track of a man whose shoes tested positive for a possible explosives residue.
In November, Argenbright workers allowed a man carrying knives, a stun gun and tear gas through a checkpoint at Chicago’s O’Hare.
And in Philadelphia, the company had to pay a $1.2-million fine in 2000 for failing to perform required background checks on employees.
Until now, airlines have been responsible for screening passengers. Carriers usually opted to contract with the security company offering the lowest bid. That created constant turnover and poor job performance among security screeners. After the Sept. 11 attacks, Congress decreed that the federal government should take over the job. By mid-November, the security administration must have 30,000 federal screeners in place. Sunday marks the beginning of a transition in which the agency will assume the security contracts held by the airlines.
Federal officials said that, wherever possible, the government will find other security companies to replace Argenbright. Those airports at which the company continues to operate will receive priority for federal screeners when they start on the job in late spring and early summer, they added.
