Study: U.S. likely to miss airline safety deadline

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The federal government will be hard pressed to meet the year end deadline for screening all checked bags, according to a study by the Reason Foundation, a Los Angeles-based think tank.

The Transportation Security Administration, the agency responsible for security at the nation's 429 commercial airports, is using a combination of EDS -- explosive detection machines -- and trace detection machines to meet that deadline.

But the study's author, Robert Poole, says putting the very large EDS machines in airports requires a lot more space. "This means multi-million -- sometimes $100 million -- construction projects at many of the major airports. And there simply isn't time to do a project of that size between now and December 31."

CNN NewsPass VIDEO CNN's Patty Davis reports on the schedule for improved bag screening in U.S. airports (July 12) Play video   THE SYSTEM Airport security: A system driven by the minimum wage PREVIOUS WARNINGS Warnings over airport security preceded attacks COMPARING U.S. TO EUROPE Outside the U.S., a different approach to air security SOLUTIONS Boosting security puts focus on government's role  GRAPHS & CHARTS  • Top 25 Airports  • Airport Security by Year  • Airline Security by Year  • Airport Wages

Poole predicted long lines and chaos at airports torn up by construction projects.

In response, Leonardo Alcivar, a Department of Transportation spokesman, said, "This study is flawed and calls for a delay in aviation security that is unacceptable to the Bush Administration and should be unacceptable to the American people."

The TSA plans to put 4,800 trace detection machines at airports and 1,100 EDS machines. In many cases, the trace detection machines will be used as a backup to the EDS machines. If a bag is flagged by the EDS machine, it would be screened by trace detection. In trace detection, a screener uses a swab to go over the bag -- even inside the bag -- to detect explosives residue.

The study says EDS and trace detection are too slow to screen all passenger bags as quickly as will be needed. It recommends that the TSA adopt a much faster system used in European countries that rates bags by three threat levels.

Alcivar said the TSA is already doing many of the things the study recommends and said that the standards used in the United States will be higher than those used in Europe.

Hiring deadline looming

The study also questions whether the federal government can hire enough federal passenger screeners in time for the November 19 deadline for screeners to be in place. The federal screeners are to replace the private screening companies now doing the job.

The Reason Foundation study suggests the federal government delay the year-end deadline for 100 percent bag screening to December 2004 so the TSA can get better technology in place. It also recommends dividing passengers into threat risks and paying more attention to those passengers who pose the greatest risk.

It also recommends improvements to the CAPPS or Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System, which red-flags passengers, and recommends the development of a program under which frequent travelers can submit to a background investigation and get a frequent traveler card.

The Reason Foundation has done airport studies in the past, recommending privatization of air traffic control.