Baggage check deadline passes without a hitch

Feb 1, 2002 12:00 PM

The Jan. 18 deadline for screening all checked baggage at airports came and went smoothly. While many airlines reported they would have problems meeting the deadline in recent weeks, it appears the majority of major air carriers and airports had no problem meeting the Aviation and Transportation Security Act-imposed deadline.

The law requires all airlines to check bags for explosives — either by machine or bomb-sniffing dog, or by matching each piece of baggage to a passenger on board.

“The Department (of Transportation) has taken the necessary action to meet this requirement, using the full menu of options provided for in the law,” said D.O.T. secretary Norman Y. Mineta in a statement. “Every available EDS (explosives detection system) machine will be used to its maximum capacity. Where we do not have EDS resources in place, we will use other options outlined in the law.”

There are only two companies that supply Federal Aviation Administration-approved EDS machines — InVision Technologies Inc., Newark, Calif., and L-3 Communications, New York. Currently, 90 percent of deployed EDS machines are from InVision.

“We will continuously upgrade our screening capability, ultimately meeting the requirement that each checked bag be screened by an explosive detection system by the end of this year,” Mineta said.

Additionally, cockpit doors of all passenger aircraft have been fortified, and more Federal Air marshals are stationed aboard flights.

Computers will also screen passengers — often multiple times — for weapons and other contraband. The enactment of the law created worry that lines would be longer and waits extended for travelers. While that was the case for some major airports, others, according to The Associated Press, had few extended delays. Lines at international airports in Philadelphia, Newark, N.J., Baltimore, Albuquerque, N.M., Tampa, Fla., and Pittsburgh appeared to flow well.

The airlines prepared for the contingency of greater wait time by making policy changes immediately prior to the enactment of the new law. Continental Airlines, for example, now requires passengers to check in at the gate 15 minutes prior to departure, even if they have checked in previously. Without checking in, passenger risk being bumped from the flight and non-transport of checked baggage.

Other airlines have instituted similar policies.

“Every Northwest (airlines) employee is committed to providing customers with an airport experience that is secure and efficient,” said Dirk McMahon, senior vice president of customer service for the airline. “Over the past two months, we have conducted extensive tests of additional baggage screening procedures. Based on those results, we expect the new requirements will have no significant impact on our customers.”

Said Carol Hallett, president and CEO of the Air Transport Association (ATA): “Enhanced security and quality customer service must not be mutually exclusive — air travel, first and foremost, must be safe and secure, but also efficient and convenient.”

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