In testimony before Congress in June, Admiral James Loy, head of the Transportation Safety Administration (TSA), stated that 1,208 of the airport passenger security screeners employed by his agency had been recently dismissed after checks of their backgrounds revealed unsatisfactory personal histories, including major felonies. Loy said the TSA now employs “more than 55,000 of the world’s best-trained screeners.” But he also pointed out that fingerprints of a further 1,550 employees were unreadable and required further checks.
Nevertheless, he said, the security checks applied to airline passenger baggage screeners were “more thorough than what is required for airport workers with unescorted access to secured areas of the airport.” When told of Loy’s statement, one airline captain said, “That’s ridiculous–and completely backwards. Ramp baggage handlers, aircraft cleaners and catering personnel have infinitely more access to my airplane than anyone going through passenger security.”
More In Regulations and Government
