TSA
147-02
Monday,
Dec. 30, 2002
TSA
Media Contact: (202) 385-1800
TSA Meeting Dec. 31 Deadline for Screening All Checked
Baggage
Another Layer of Security Makes Skies Safer than Ever
The
Transportation Security Administration will be screening all checked baggage by
midnight Tuesday as Congress mandated in the Aviation and Transportation
Security Act, Under Secretary of Transportation for Security Adm. James M. Loy
said today.
“Meeting
the 36th – and final – deadline that Congress set for the TSA is
a huge accomplishment,” Adm. Loy said. “With this additional layer of
security in place, airports and air travelers are better protected than they
have ever been.”
President
Bush signed legislation creating the TSA on Nov. 19, 2001, in response to the
terrorist attacks of 9/11. In late January, TSA existed in name only, with a
total of 13 employees. Now, 158 federal security directors have responsibility
for the nation’s 429 commercial airports, thousands of federal air marshals
are on flights every day, and some 56,000 security screeners are on the job.
The
TSA worked with every airport to develop individual plans for screening all bags
using methods set out in the legislation creating the TSA. Today’s
announcement reflects the commitment of thousands of Americans – federal
employees, contractors and aviation industry representatives.
Congress
authorized extensions to the Dec. 31, 2002 deadline for fully deployed
electronic detection systems in the legislation which created the new Department
of Homeland Security. Adm. Loy exercised his discretion to approve extensions at
a handful of the nation’s airports, while directing the use of other,
congressionally approved methods in the interim. The simple result is that all
checked baggage will be screened before it goes on an aircraft.
Before Sept. 11, 2001, only 5 percent of bags were being checked. By
midnight Tuesday, all bags will be checked, with over 90 percent of bags being
checked electronically.
Besides
explosives detection and explosives trace detection machines, approved methods
include canine teams, hand searches and passenger-bag matching. For security
reasons, the TSA will not divulge how many waivers were issued or be specific
about how baggage is screened at individual airports.
Adm.
Loy has given federal security directors authority to respond to issues that may
arise from the screening process. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta has
insisted from the very beginning that improved security be accomplished as a
parallel effort with world-class customer service. That balance remains in place
as checked baggage screening is added to TSA’s layered “system of systems”
that is now in place at the nation’s airports.
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