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U.S. agency may revamp airport security - newspaper

Posted on: Saturday, 13 August 2005, 11:09 CDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government agency responsible for airport security is considering changing the security checks faced by airline passengers, the Washington Post reported on Saturday.

The newspaper said Edmund Hawley, the new head of the Transportation Security Administration, wants to find ways to upgrade security while reducing inconvenience to passengers, who currently have to wait in long lines and remove their shoes and outer garments at security barriers.

Among the recommendations in an August 5 document prepared by TSA staff were proposals to end the ban on some carry-on items including scissors, razor blades and knives less than five inches long. The paper also suggests doing away with the provision that all passengers have to remove their shoes.

A decision on the recommendation may come later this month, the newspaper reported.

The TSA, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, was created as part of the response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Previously, airport security was handled by private corporations.

However, the agency has faced criticism for instituting blanket searches of all passengers instead of focusing on those who might constitute a higher risk, and spending too much time looking for nail scissors instead of concentrating on detecting possible suicide bombers.

The TSA memo obtained by the newspaper proposed to minimize the number of passengers who must be patted down at checkpoints. It also recommends that certain categories of passengers be exempt from airport security screening, such as members of Congress, airline pilots, Cabinet members, state governors, federal judges, high-ranking military officers and people with top-secret security clearances.

Source: REUTERS

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