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National Guard gets call to work airports
By STEVE HUETTEL, STEVE BOUSQUET and JEAN HELLER
© St. Petersburg Times, National Guard troops will be dispatched to the nation's airports starting next week to bolster security and make jittery travelers feel better about getting back on airplanes. They will remain several months, until the federal government can take charge of airport security and beef up supervision, training and pay of screeners now hired by the airlines. President Bush announced the moves Thursday at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport as part of an overall security plan. He was surrounded by cheering airline workers at the hub for United Airlines and American Airlines, which each lost two jets in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The airlines have lost billions of dollars and began to lay off more than 100,000 workers as frightened travelers canceled or postponed flights. Bush urged people to get back into the skies and even made a pitch for Florida tourism. "Get on board," he said. "Fly and enjoy America's great destination spots. Get down to Disney World in Florida. Take your families and enjoy life." Bush also authorized $500-million in grants for airlines to strengthen cockpit doors, install cameras so pilots can see inside cabins and make other security fixes on planes. He pledged to hire more armed sky marshals. Law officers loaned from government agencies have been training to fly undercover and fight terrorists on commercial flights. Bush will ask Congress to make the expansion permanent. The plan was widely praised by politicians of both parties and travel industry organizations. But some Democrats and groups, including AAA and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, objected to Bush allowing private firms to continue screening passengers under government supervision. "It is no longer acceptable to allow private, profit-margin interests to conflict with public safety needs," said Sen. Fritz Hollings, D-S.C. "No one would think of a private corporation running the FBI. We're going to insist on . . . airport security through federalization." Unions for airline employees generally liked Bush's proposal, although it didn't mention two of their security ideas: a plea from pilots to be allowed to carry guns and a flight attendant proposal to limit carry-on bags so screeners can check them more quickly. Bush said he reserved $3-billion for the security improvements though it wasn't clear where the money would come from. One Senate bill would put a $1 surcharge on flights. Others have suggested a charge of up to $3 for each leg of a trip to pay for security. Gov. Jeb Bush said he agreed that putting National Guard troops in airports was a good way to calm the nerves of travelers whose unwillingness to fly has wreaked havoc on Florida tourism. "It is important to give people a sense of confidence in flying," he said. "The first way to do that is to assure them that when they get to an airport, it's going to be safe and when they get on a plane, it's going to be safe." The governor said the guardsmen likely will act in a supervisory role at each checkpoint in the state's 19 commercial airports, "just to have another set of eyes watching the security." But many details on the Guard deployment have not been worked out. Among the questions: Will the Guardsmen carry weapons? How many will be at each airport? Maj. Gen. Ronald Harrison, the state's Guard commander, said his troops wouldn't be going in to "take over" but to support local authorities. After brief training from the FAA, most would likely help screen passengers and luggage, and not be armed, he said. "This is not a police martial-law kind of thing at all," Harrison said. "What we want to do is give people comfort that there is enough manpower to secure airports and to let the airport traffic start again." Later Thursday, a spokesman for the Florida National Guard said the initial plan called for 260 personnel. But that number could increase, said Jon Myatt. At Tampa International Airport, Barbara Rose of Sarasota said she could accept Bush's proposals. "I'm a real liberal person, and I should be objecting to some of the infringements all this is bringing on, but I'm fine with it," Rose said. "I don't want to get blown up." Security is adequate at Tampa International, said executive director Louis Miller, but National Guard troops at the airport would reassure passengers. "The presence of law enforcement officers is always a good deterrent," he said. "And if it makes passengers feel more comfortable, it would help." Miller has said for years that poorly paid screeners who work for security companies hired by the airlines are an inadequate last line of defense against terrorism. He doesn't favor having the military or federal civilian employees doing baggage screening, preferring that screeners be hired by his agency, the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority. Bush's proposal called for federal authorities to be in charge but said the screening and security be carried out by a "combination federal and nonfederal work force." That would let the government pay a decent wage and attract better screeners, said Ken Quinn, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who represents the Aviation Security Association, a group of security companies. "It will put us on a par with Europe, where it's a privatized system . . . and they pay $10 to $12 an hour instead of the $7 airlines pay here," he said. -- Information from Times wires was used in this report. Staff writer Bill Adair contributed. Security plan detailsDetails of the airline and airport security plan President Bush announced Thursday in Chicago, as provided by the White House. Implementation of the plan is expected to take four to six months. AIR MARSHALS: Continue expansion of the air marshal program and seek congressional approval to make the expansion permanent. AIRPLANE MODIFICATIONS: $500-million grant to modify planes to restrict opening of the cockpit door during flight; fortify cockpit doors to deny access from the cabin to the pilots; develop video camera technology that would alert cockpit crew to unusual activity in the cabin; ensure continuous operation of the aircraft transponder, which allows controllers to track a plane, during an emergency. AIRPORT SECURITY: Federal government to be in charge, establishing new standards for security operations; supervising passenger and baggage security at the 420 commercial passenger airports; performing intensive background checks and training and testing screeners and security personnel; buying and maintaining all equipment; overseeing patrolling of secure areas and monitoring of the quality of the airport's access controls; and working with other law enforcement authorities at the federal, state and local levels. Security workers will include a combination of federal and nonfederal personnel, with federal uniformed employees managing all operations and maintaining a visible presence at all commercial airports. NATIONAL GUARD: Will have a presence at all commercial airports after receiving training in airport security techniques from the Federal Aviation Administration. -- Associated Press
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
