Editorial: Aviation security is still hapless

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2001 | 9 a.m.

On Saturday night Subash Gurung was able to get seven knives, a stun gun and a canister of tear gas past a security checkpoint at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. Gurung, a Nepalese citizen who was in the United States on an expired student visa, was prevented from getting on a flight only after United Airlines employees searched his luggage at the gate. Last weekend's failure by a privatized airporty security force will be viewed by most Americans as just one more reason why the federal government should have complete control of this law enforcement function, but don't tell that to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.

Hastert actually took comfort from the net effect of Saturday's breach of security, a debacle that resulted in the suspension of seven employees and one supervisor of the company that runs airport security at O'Hare -- the same company that runs security at McCarran International Airport. Hastert told the Chicago Tribune that if the screeners had been federal employees, it would have been harder to fire them. Hastert's logic, then, would be to keep a broken system that makes it easier for a would-be hijacker, so long as the inexperienced, low-paid employees could be fired after making a catastrophic mistake. Not only is Hastert's reasoning ridiculous, but he also doesn't understand how federalized airport security employees would be treated under Senate legislation that would promote airport safety. The Senate bill, which would make federal employees of al l airport security personnel, actually would deny civil service protection and make it easier to fire them than if they wer! e in the private sector.

The GOP-controlled House and President Bush have blocked the Senate's plan at federalization as they continue to insist on keeping in place a privatized system. It's incredible that the nation is even having this debate after the Sept. 11 terrorist hijackings of four airliners that resulted in the deaths of at least 5,000 people. The nation's economy also has suffered because of the terrorism, especially the airline industry. The public isn't confident that security is tight enough, a situation that has depressed airline travel. It is obvious that dramatic action is necessary, for public safety and the health of the airline industry.

As the New York Times reported over the weekend, aviation safety experts still are dismayed that Congress and the airlines haven't taken much action, including steps to shore up security in other areas. For instance, Congress has yet to allocate more funding for sophisticated screening machines that would examine checked baggage for explosives and other weapons. Even if Congress approves more machines, however, there is a question whether the airlines would use them. The machines that are in place now aren't always used because airlines complain that to operate them all the time would cause travel delays for passengers. The airlines also haven't taken the step of ensuring that passengers who check their baggage actually board the flights. Universal bag checking wouldn't deter suicide hijackers, but it would prevent a ticketed passenger, who had no intentio n of boarding a flight, from sneaking a bomb aboard a plane through his luggage. The airlines are moving forward to reinfor! ce cockpit doors, but hijackings are just part of the safety equation. Additional measures should be adopted to thwart other kinds of terrorist attacks.

The current system places such a premium on the comfort and convenience of travelers that security can easily get lost in the shuffle, a situation that leads to security lapses that terrorists can exploit. Employees aren't trained with a law enforcement mentality that stresses safety at all costs. Airport security in the United States needs to start from scratch, and that means making airport security a law enforcement function run by the federal government. The current mindset of air travel, which focuses almost exclusively on how to get passengers through an airport as fast -- and cheaply -- as possible, should come to an end. Safety should come first -- always.