[Mb-civic] Airline Security Changes Planned - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

<>Airline Security Changes Planned
Threats Reassessed To Make Travel Easier for Public

By Sara Kehaulani Goo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 13, 2005; Page A01

The new head of the Transportation Security Administration has called 
for a broad review of the nation's air security system to update the 
agency's approach to threats and reduce checkpoint hassles for passengers.

Edmund S. "Kip" Hawley, an assistant secretary of homeland security, 
directed his staff to propose changes in how the agency screens 2 
million passengers a day. The staff's first set of recommendations, 
detailed in an Aug. 5 document, includes proposals to lift the ban on 
various carry-on items such as scissors, razor blades and knives less 
than five inches long. It also proposes that passengers no longer 
routinely be required to remove their shoes at security checkpoints.

Agency officials plan to meet this month to consider the proposals, 
which would require Hawley's approval to go into effect.

Since his confirmation in June, Hawley has told his staff that he would 
reevaluate security measures put in place since the terrorist attacks in 
2001 and ensure that they make sense, given today's threats. The TSA is 
struggling with new cuts in the screener workforce imposed by Congress 
while its new leaders hope to improve the agency's poor reputation among 
air travelers by introducing more customer-friendly measures. Homeland 
Security Secretary Michael Chertoff signaled the effort when he 
announced that the agency would eliminate a requirement that forced 
passengers to remain in their seats during the first and last 30 minutes 
of flights using Reagan National Airport.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/12/AR2005081201557.html?referrer=email

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