Airport Security Test Exposes Flaws

Plainclothes federal agents testing airport security were able to get guns and knives past screening checkpoints in Miami earlier this month, government officials said Thursday.

The incident renewed concerns about the aviation security system, which has been on high alert since the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Despite the intrusive searches law-abiding passengers have learned to patiently cooperate with, the breaches showed that weapons still can be smuggled into the secure area of a major airport.

The Feb. 6 test was conducted by agents of the Transportation Department’s inspector general. In previous years, undercover agents for the inspector general and the Federal Aviation Administration often were able to easily get weapons past checkpoints. The latest test showed that not all loopholes have been closed.

The airport security system is being turned over to a new federal Transportation Security Administration. The agency took control Sunday of passenger checkpoints, which had been operated by security companies hired by the airlines and supervised by the FAA.

But the same security screeners, often low-wage workers, are continuing to do the job for now. Starting this summer, they will be replaced by federal security officers at 429 airports that have regular airline service.

David Barnes, a spokesman for the inspector general, said he could not confirm or deny that agents had breached security. “We have been doing undercover audits at more than two dozen airports, and we’re not going to discuss what, if anything, we’ve found.”

A source familiar with the results of the test said agents were able to get three guns and nine knives past security screeners at the Miami airport.

A Transportation Department official downplayed the test because it occurred before the new administration assumed security duties.