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Under the Banner of Security

George Prill asks the question, What impacts do the new security measures have on the GSE community in the U.S.?

By Michelle Garetson/p>

By George Prill

May 2002

No one in the airline business can be against security. Like "Motherhood and Apple Pie," it seems to be above criticism, but we have to look at the way security is being managed, or mismanaged, in the airline business.

George Prill is an Editorial Consultant for GSE Today and is based in Galveston, Texas.

There is no question that the terrorist actions in the U.S. on September 11 introduced the world to a new type of attack. It was carried out by men who had the brains to organize and manage recruitment, training, and execution and who were also willing to give up their own lives. Unfortunately for the airline industry, airline aircraft were their weapons of choice.

The U.S. Congress disregarded the wishes of the Bush Administration and rushed to bring the government into the direct management of airline security by federalizing the passenger screeners and reestablishing the Air Marshal program. As a result, the Department of Transportation, through the newly formed Transportation Security Administration (TSA), is now busy taking actions that may stop another attack but which certainly alienate or, in some cases, infuriate airline employees and passengers.

CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE
The ground support community is in the middle of all this with new requirements for baggage screening and matching and the need to keep aircraft moving. Bag matching is now a requirement. This is done manually at most stations with ground support people matching baggage tags with passenger boarding cards. To increase speed and reliability, the airlines are automating the process as much as possible by equipping the baggage handlers with bar code readers that can match tags with passes.

The TSA is required to implement a system to check baggage and cargo for explosive devices by the end of 2002. This cannot be done with the present level of technology or the space and facilities available at many airports. Even if there was a budget to buy the expensive machines that have been approved, this will be a continuing problem for baggage handling for the foreseeable future.