Wednesday,
January 16, 2002
DOT 05-02
Contact: Lenny Alcivar
Tel.: (202) 366-4570
MINETA ANNOUNCES LATEST IMPROVEMENTS TO NATION’S AVIATION SECURITY SYSTEM
Airlines To Meet Congressionally Mandated Baggage Screening Deadline
Washington, DC -- U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta today delivered the keynote address at the 2002 Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board. During his speech, Secretary Mineta outlined the latest in a series of critical security improvements implemented by the Bush Administration since September 11.
Under the plan announced by the Secretary, airlines will meet a congressionally mandated requirement to begin screening all checked passenger bags by Friday, January 18, the 60-day mark included in the Aviation Transportation Security Act (ATSA) signed by President George W. Bush on November 19 of last year.
“The
Department has taken the necessary action to meet this requirement, using the
full menu of options provided for in the law,” said Secretary Mineta.
“Every available EDS machine will be used to its maximum capacity.
Where we do not yet have EDS resources in place, we will use other
options outlined in the law. On
originating flights, baggage will be matched to its passenger.
Computers will screen passengers, and passengers will be screened for
weapons - often multiple times.
“In
addition, more bags will also be subject to sniffing by trained dogs, to more
comprehensive screening by both explosive-detection and explosive trace
detection devices, to manual searches, or to a combination of those techniques.
We will continuously upgrade our screening capability, ultimately meeting
the requirement that each checked bag be screened by an explosive detection
system by the end of this year.”
The
Secretary announced a multi-layered system to screen checked and carry-on
baggage using Explosive Detection Equipment (EDS), an enhanced Computer Assisted
Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS), Explosive Trace Detection (ETD), K-9s,
and manual searches, or some combination of these methods.
In
addition, cockpit doors of all passenger aircraft so equipped have been
fortified and today, more than any time in the nation’s history, more flights
are guarded by Federal Air Marshals.
These
provisions, overseen by the Department’s Transportation Security
Administration, aim to strengthen the nation’s aviation screening system and
increase and improve the level of security for air travelers.
Recently, President Bush named John Magaw to serve as Under Secretary of
the new agency. Magaw’s resume
includes nearly 40 years of law enforcement experience.
He formerly served as Director of the Secret Service and as the Director
of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Separately,
the U.S. Department of Transportation also announced today the formation of
a senior advisor program to bring private sector best practices to the
Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Under this program, executives
from some of the nation's leading firms will be loaned to the TSA to help
establish the new agency.
Today’s remarks by Secretary Mineta can be viewed by going to http://www.dot.gov/affairs/011602sp.htm.