Dec. 04--The New Hanover County Airport Authority is scheduled to meet late this afternoon and could approve funding to hire additional security guards for the Wilmington International Airport.
In April, the federal Travel Safety Administration told airports nationwide that they will no longer be staffing airport terminal exit lanes. TSA officials said they did not consider those areas part of the administration's screening responsibility.
According to the federal agency, the need for ramped up security -- a bill to be footed by each airport -- was emphasized by the Nov. 1 fatal shooting of a TSA agent at the Los Angeles International Airport.
Wilmington airport officials asked the TSA to exempt the airport from the requirements, but had not heard from them as of last month's meeting, according to meeting minutes.
The bolstered security would not exceed $85,000 annually, according to Wednesday's meeting agenda.
If approved, the new guards would start in January.
Check back later for more on this developing story.
Caitlin Dineen: 343-2339
On Twitter: @CaitlinDineen
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