Where I Stand — Guest columnist Randy Walker: A viable safety option

Friday, Aug. 9, 2002 | 9:17 a.m.

Editor's note: In August the Where I Stand column is written by guest writers. Today's columnist is Randy Walker, who supervises McCarran International Airport in his position as director of the Clark County Department of Aviation.

CONGRESS PASSED the Aviation and Transportation Security Act in November, establishing an ambitious schedule for changes in aviation security, from the federalization of airport screening and law enforcement personnel to requiring 100 percent of checked baggage to be screened.

A new federal agency -- the Transportation Security Administration -- was created to oversee these directives. Staffing this new agency with enough screeners for 429 airports -- an estimated workforce of more than 60,000 employees -- is a gargantuan task in itself.

New security procedures have already resulted in longer processing times (and lines) in the ticketing area, at security checkpoints and at the boarding gates. The impact is felt particularly strongly at McCarran International Airport because we are the world's second busiest airport for what we call "origin and destination" travelers -- those who are coming to Las Vegas, rather than connecting.

At Atlanta's Hartsfield or Chicago's O'Hare airport, a high percentage of passengers are catching a connecting flight through an airline hub. At McCarran, 92 percent of our travelers are coming to or leaving Las Vegas -- coming in our "front door" to check a bag and passing through one of our security checkpoints. Only Los Angeles International sees more annual origin and destination passengers.

McCarran is also one of the first major airports to see passenger traffic rebound to near-normal levels since Sept. 11. Since December we have seen a steady climb in passenger counts as well, with many announcements of airline service additions, from carriers as diverse as Spirit, Jet Blue and Singapore Airlines.

At McCarran, we have taken on a number of initiatives designed to not only strengthen security, but also to maintain a standard of customer service commensurate with the needs of our community. This is a critical component of our operations every day, keeping in mind that Las Vegas is truly a discretionary destination. Unlike business travel hub cities, if travel through our airport becomes too difficult of a process, people simply will not come.

To that effect, in recent months we have added 70 percent more capacity to our security checkpoints to shorten wait times, even during peak travel hours. We have also developed specific queuing plans with each of our airlines to expedite traffic flow in the ticketing lobby.

Staff has also been added to assist in customer service as well as security processes. All of this is in addition to upgrading equipment, tightening perimeter security, reconfiguring parking and making other changes to fulfill federal security requirements.

The deadline now looming before airports and the TSA is for the screening of all checked baggage by Dec. 31. From the time that Congress passed the security act, there have been major questions raised about this deadline and whether it can be met. We at McCarran, along with countless other airports and aviation agencies, have been very vocal in stating that it cannot, under the TSA's current direction.

This stance is not based on a lack of willingness on the part of airports to comply, but rather on simple logistical truths. There are not enough Explosive Detection Systems machines in existence, and there is neither time nor funding for airports to make necessary modifications to their facilities for a stop-gap, lobby-based installation.

In addition, the current plan to screen every piece of checked baggage via lobby-based EDS machines and trace detection equipment involves multiple, manual steps that would create catastrophic delays for customers, and, more importantly, create a new, grave security risk by overcrowding airport ticketing lobbies.

EDS machines are large, extremely heavy and need a lot of electric power. Airports were simply not built to handle large installations of these machines. Many airports are racing to reinforce floors, for example. At McCarran, we are faced with a $500,000 power infrastructure retrofit simply to implement our lobby-based, interim solution (and that's assuming the EDS machines become available). We are doing everything we can to work toward that goal.

We believe, however, that a more viable option is the creation of an integrated, behind-the-counter system to screen baggage. This automated system, similar to those currently in use in some European airports, would be both more efficient and more secure, by eliminating cumbersome, manual steps.

In addition, this system would more easily allow new technology upgrades as more advanced equipment is certified for use. The cost of this system, which would involve major construction to expand our current ticketing area, would be in the neighborhood of $200 million -- but a worthy long-term investment to ensure the continued safety of our passengers.

The events of Sept. 11 brought to the forefront many needed changes in aviation security. To keep things in perspective, however, it should be kept in mind that the screening of checked baggage would not have prevented hijackings from occurring on that tragic day.

By advocating an extension of the deadline we are not in any way asking to compromise the safety of air travelers. In fact, it is quite the opposite. We are asking for time to develop a long-term solution for the protection of travelers -- to do it the right way, without putting passengers at additional risk or compromising customer service to the point that travelers will no longer fly.