Tampa International will try out new devices that read fingerprints as part of a larger test of security methods.
By JEAN HELLER
Published May 5, 2004
TAMPA - Tampa International Airport is about to become a guinea pig in an aviation security experiment.
More than a year ago the Transportation Security Administration asked for airport volunteers to test new security systems that would combine standard identification with such high-tech devices as fingerprint and retina scans to protect sensitive areas of airport property from terrorist intrusions.
TIA was one of eight airports chosen this week to take part in the first phase of the program this year.
"Each airport will use different systems at different types of access points, and the results will be evaluated to see what works best," said Dario Compain, TSA's federal security director at TIA.
Airport employees with clearance to be in secure areas at TIA now swipe their ID cards past readers and punch in security codes, much like PIN numbers. But if someone were to steal an access card and the PIN number assigned to it, there would be nothing to stop unauthorized entry to sensitive areas, such as baggage handling or the airfield.
Under the experimental system, the access cards also will carry each employee's fingerprint. The employee will scan the card and then press a finger to the reader to match the two. If the live fingerprint does not match that on the ID card, access will be denied.
While identity theft has not been rampant since the terrorism of 2001, there have been some scares, including an incident in 2002 when burglars took airline uniforms, keys and identification tags from the New York apartment of two Delta Air Lines flight attendants.
A week later, citing ongoing reports of such thefts, the TSA warned airlines to be on the lookout for impostors wearing stolen uniforms trying to gain access to planes or airports.
In addition to making it harder to foil security, TIA also expects its new system to be more convenient for employees.
With the current system, when several employees pull up to a checkpoint in a car, the driver collects everyone's card and swipes them against a reader fixed to a post outside the car window, then returns the cards.
"It's kind of a hassle," said airport spokeswoman Brenda Geoghagan.
Under the new program, a guard at the checkpoint will hand a wireless scanner, which looks much like a personal digital assistant, to the driver, who will swipe his card and provide a fingerprint. The wireless scanner can be passed around the vehicle, while the guard watches a monitor inside his shack to be sure he gets all green confirmation lights.
At TIA, the experimental system will be set up at Checkpoint Bravo, a point on the north end of the airfield. Both the employee parking lot and the air cargo facilities are up there, meaning whole busloads of people pass through the gate onto the airfield en route to the terminal.
"Ours is really a test for vehicles," Compain said. "At other airports, they might test service doors or other facilities, but ours is set up to see how it works with vehicles carrying people."
Other airports participating in the program are in Miami; Fort Myers; Newark, N.J.; Boise, Idaho; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Savannah, Ga.; and Providence, R.I.
Different airports will test different technology. For instance, Miami International will test video analysis to differentiate between authorized and unauthorized people entering security areas. Newark will incorporate fingerprint technology. T.F. Green State Airport in Providence will use eye scan matches to control access.
"This pilot program will test new technologies designed to ensure that only authorized personnel have access to non-passenger controlled areas," said David Stone, TSA's acting administrator. "TSA believes that this cutting-edge technology will enhance the security of the aviation system and keep us one step ahead of those who seek to harm us."
Compain said there is no start date for the program, which will last about 90 days.
