Friday, Nov. 29, 2002 | 9:50 a.m.
Despite the extension of a federal deadline to screen baggage for explosives, passengers arriving at McCarran International Airport over the holidays can still expect one new checkpoint.
The airport has reinstated the checking of baggage claim tags in the luggage collection area, McCarran spokeswoman Debbie Millett said. The practice had been suspended after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, she said.
"After Sept. 11 the people who were matching the bags in baggage were needed to help out at the checkpoints, but now that the TSA (Transportation Safety Administration) is running the checkpoints, the measure has returned," Millett said.
The baggage matching began earlier this month and is done on a random basis by Wackenhut security personnel stationed at the exits of the baggage claim area. Every bag is not matched to a claim ticket; security randomly selects travelers for the check.
The reason for the measure's return is two-fold, Millett said.
"It's something that we've done for years, because it's a good customer service and a theft deterrent," Millett said. "We have a lot of people coming through with high-ticket items like golf clubs."
Not all airports have bag claim matching because it is not a required security measure.
"It's a decision that the airlines make," said Bob Parker, spokesman for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. "It's something that the airlines have chosen not to do here."
At McCarran, Southwest Airlines contracts with Wackenhut, a security company, to provide the bag claim checks, a Southwest spokeswoman said.
Lynn Luka, a traveler who flew into McCarran Wednesday from Chicago, was chosen to have her bags and claim stubs checked as she was leaving bag claim.
"I like that they check them," Luka said. "I've been through other airports that do it, and it's not a hassle."
Some travelers like the checking and others don't, Millett said.
"Some people are in a hurry and don't want to take the time for the checks," Millett said. "We have to balance it with keeping lines moving in the airport."
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