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Richmond, Va., Airport Will Add Part-Time Screeners

Posted on: Friday, 16 December 2005, 18:00 CST

By Chip Jones, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.

Dec. 16--Richmond International Airport will be a testing ground for part-time federal security screeners early next year.

The program, announced yesterday by Rep. Eric I. Cantor, R-7th, is meant to help the Transportation Security Administration enlarge its screening force at Richmond's fast-growing airport while keeping the government's costs down.

TSA director Kip Hawley told Cantor in a letter that Richmond International "is a prime candidate due to peak flight-scheduling" -- that is, most of its flights leave early in the morning or late in the day, serving a large number of business travelers.

Cantor said he learned of the TSA experiment in a meeting at his Capitol Hill office Wednesday. The project appears to satisfy his recent request -- made at the behest of the airport leadership -- to give Richmond International more screeners to handle this year's nearly 17 percent increase in passenger traffic.

Another growth surge is expected in late March when the airport's second low-fare airline, JetBlue Airways Corp., starts service.

"They have to work within their budget, but are thinking outside the box," said Cantor, the chief deputy House GOP whip.

An airport spokesman last night could not determine whether there are any part-time screeners there now.

The TSA will start recruiting part-time workers in January and February, and hopes to attract younger workers with tuition assistance and lure retired workers with medical benefits.

The agency is still working out the wage levels and hours of the jobs, spokesman Darrin Kayser said.

Richmond is part of a broader effort by the TSA to create a national staff in which 20 percent work part time, he said.

Airport spokesman Troy Bell called the test "a welcome announcement" to prepare for JetBlue. RIC officials also are pleased that airport security staffing will be reviewed twice a year -- a new commitment by the TSA.

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Copyright (c) 2005, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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JBLU,

Source: Richmond Times-Dispatch

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