Security Being Sacrificed for Speed, Critics Charge

Air Safety Week, Oct 7, 2002

Programs to tighten security will be tempered by the need for customer service, according to a new doctrine announced by government officials. Critics of the policy say it leaves the door open to future security breaches that could be exploited by wily terrorists.

The tension between these opposing views was revealed in last week's meeting of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC). During the proceedings, Adm. James Loy, recently appointed head of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and his top lieutenants laid out for committee members the status of current security programs and outlined policies that will guide the way forward. It was the first public ASAC meeting in nearly a year; the last one took place Dec. 18, 2001 (see ASW, Jan. 14, 2002).

Loy said his vision of TSA's role is to provide "world class security coupled equally to world class customer service." In other words, protection and throughput must be balanced. To accomplish this, Loy said that "threat analysis on the one hand and risk management on the other hand" are the "two defining tools." Additionally, a good dollop of "common sense" must be added to the mix, Loy said.

Indeed, the slogan "World Class Security and Customer Service" appeared on all the briefing slides presented by TSA officials who followed Loy during the meeting.

In terms of risk management, procedures that do not contribute significantly to security will be dispensed with. Loy said the "hassle factor" of unneeded or outdated security procedures needs to be reduced. To this end, he explained that the questions typically asked of passengers ("Did you pack these bags yourself?" etc.) were asked to prevent unwitting persons from carrying terrorist bombs. However, the questions are no longer seen as contributing to security and are no longer required. Similarly, Loy added, "No one is being asked to eat or drink foodstuffs to prove they are not explosives."

In terms of reducing the hassle factor, Loy said airport evacuations resulting from suspected security breaches have decreased more than 30 percent in a recent three-month period.

Simplified steps

To further reduce service interruptions, Loy outlined a three-step security process: (1) all passengers will receive a boarding pass "up front," (2) passengers will pass through a robust security screening checkpoint, and (3) they will pass into a sanitized airport area on the other side of the security checkpoint. Passenger searches at the gate area will not be done, although in the past year a number of security breaches were caught at the gates.

Requiring passengers to procure boarding passes before presenting themselves at the security screening checkpoint could require electronic ticket holders without checked baggage to check in at the front counter. As such, some of the convenience of holding an e-ticket would be compromised while contributing to more crowding in the airport area in front of the security checkpoints.

Adm. Loy's meaning of the term "sanitized area" was not entirely clear. For example, sources say that at most airports, airport employees enter secured areas without screening; it is not clear that this practice will change.

While Loy declared that "holes are not a good thing, especially when you are in the security business," skeptics of his policy approach said recent decisions may actually have left open or widened holes in the U.S. aviation security system. And while the briefings of various TSA officials featured color graphics, the credibility of the presentations seemed to crumble in the face of questioning over specifics.

Above all, skeptics questioned the dual objective of security and service. ASAC member Bob Monetti asked, "Where is service mandated in the law?" Monetti is president of The Victims of Pan Am Flight 103. The organization is named for the December 1988 terrorist bombing of a Pan American B747 over Lockerbie, Scotland. In asking where "service" appears in the law, Monetti was referring to the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) signed. This legislation, the primary response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, established the TSA and set up numerous deadlines for tightening aviation security.

Responding to Monetti's question, Loy said, "The harsh reality in our nation is that we must be attentive to security while accepting the needs of service."

Not persuaded, Monetti told the committee, "The victims of Flight 103 will be even more persistent, and maybe a little obnoxious, about this issue of security and service."

In a separate interview, Monetti pointed to the dual mandate of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to promote air commerce while regulating the industry to maintain safety. After the 1996 fatal crash of a ValuJet DC-9, the FAA was stripped by Congress of its dual mandate and given the sole mission of oversight for safety. Monetti and others see the same mistake with security - assuming a dual role of security and service will ineluctably compromise security.