The recent arrests of airline workers for gun-and-drug-related offences led the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to begin random inspections of airline workers in Florida and Puerto Rico, officials announced.
Two Orlando-based airline employees allegedly carried 14 guns onto an airplane Last week has also led to some national lawmakers to ask the TSA to screen the almost one million airport workers who now can get into airplanes and into secure airport areas without going through metal detectors.
Meanwhile, USA Today adds:
“The TSA sent a total of 160 screeners to Miami, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and San Juan airports where they will spend the week searching employees, checking their ID badges and searching airplanes before passenger boarding,” according to TSA officials.
Earl Morris, the TSA general manager for field operations, says the agency wants to “make sure those who are coming through access points are legitimate airport employees and are not carrying anything that could do any harm.”
But while support appears to be building to screen all airline and airport workers, there likely would be critics of such a move, the newspaper reported.
For example, cost could be an issue if the TSA needs to beef up its ranks to handle additional screenings.
“I don’t know [the cost], but I know what it will cost if we have one incident,” US Rep. Corrine Brown said.
She is backing legislation that would initiate a test screening program at select airports, including Orlando, the paper adds.
Mr Morris says he believes the Florida arrests do not indicate a broader problem.
Report by David Wilkening
