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Security relaxed in time for holidays
From Patty Davis
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- With holiday travel just around the corner, federal officials unwrapped a gift to U.S. travelers Sunday. Flying will be less of a hassle in the nation's biggest airports almost immediately. Officials announced that some of the safety procedures put in place immediately after the September 11 attacks will be replaced with newer safety programs aimed at making check-in easier for passengers. Starting Monday, no screenings will be conducted at boarding gates just before passengers board their flights, according to the Transportation Safety Agency. Instead, two other sets of measures will be followed: -- At some airports, roving screeners will select flights and passengers at gate areas on a random basis for additional screening. -- At 17 airports, passengers at check-in counters in the main terminal may be chosen for more thorough screenings. Those additional screenings will be conducted at the passenger security checkpoint, where all passengers and carry-on luggage are now examined electronically. At those 17 airports, passengers will no longer be able to get boarding passes at the boarding area. These measures are already in place at major airports in Long Beach, California; Los Angeles, California; Detroit, Michigan; Newark, New Jersey; Miami, Florida; Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; St. Louis, Missouri; and New York's LaGuardia and Kennedy airports. The measures will be in place within two weeks at airports in Houston, Texas; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Cincinnati, Ohio; Boston, Massachusetts; Memphis, Tennessee; Charlotte, North Carolina; Seattle, Washington; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. "The notion is to strengthen security, reduce hassle," said TSA's Robert Johnson. "Do that by creating a program that is unpredictable to the enemy." Also Monday, the TSA will lift a ban on parking within 300 feet of an airport terminal. Those parking restrictions are to go back into effect only if the nation's color-coded threat alert is raised. The TSA said it's easing restrictions because new security measures, including reinforced cockpit doors and the presence of federal air marshals on some flights, make the restrictions unnecessary. Undersecretary of Transportation for Security Adm. James Loy has already gotten rid of some restrictions that he called "stupid rules." Gone is the ban on carrying coffee cups through airport security and the two security questions all passengers were routinely asked as they checked in -- whether anyone had given them something to carry on the plane and whether their luggage had been in their possession from the time they packed it. TSA officials also say they are working on improvements in screening checked baggage, the safety of cargo, and ensuring thorough background checks for airport employees.
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