Too Much Luggage for the System?

    Sept. 21, 2006
    A new Congressional report says there's a crisis looming in the nation's airports. AIRPORT BUSINESS Editor John Infanger gives his take on the situation in an interview with NPR's Marketplace.

    Source NPR Marketplace

    Click here to read the final BSIS Working Group Report.

    Marketplace Host KAI RYSSDAL: There was a different sort of news today about a different kind of security. A new Congressional report says there's a crisis looming in the nation's airports. Marketplace's Lisa Napoli has that story.

    Click here to listen to the NPR Marketplace interview with John Infanger.

    Marketplace Reporter LISA NAPOLI: Not enough screeners. Slow and antiquated bomb detectors shoehorned into crowded airports. John Infanger of Airport Business magazine says these findings in the report to Congress aren't surprising:

    AIRPORT BUSINESS EDITOR JOHN INFANGER: Well, it says what we already knew where we were at. And that is that we haven't really effectively put in what we said we wanted to put in place after 9/11.

    Marketplace Reporter LISA NAPOLI: And these conclusions about the crisis in luggage screening were reached before the British averted a terrorist attack on transatlantic flights in August. Since then stricter carry-on rules have increased checked luggage by 20 percent. Infanger says these bottlenecks show the need to be on the offense, not the defense, with airport security:

    AIRPORT BUSINESS EDITOR JOHN INFANGER: We need some kind of national forum on where's technology going to take us. And what should we be looking for in terms of threats. . . . The problem really lies with Congress.

    Marketplace Reporter LISA NAPOLI: After the USA Today story appeared this morning, Democrats were spinning, and urging the President to fully fund upgrades. Congressman Ed Markey serves on the Homeland Security Committee:

    Congressman ED MARKEY: Ignoring a glaring loophole such as checkpoint screening is something that, unfortunately, Al Qaeda might try to exploit.

    Marketplace Reporter LISA NAPOLI: Paying not just for improved screening technology but also the infrastructure changes to accommodate them isn't going to be cheap. The Potential pricetag? Close to $5 billion.

    In New York, I'm Lisa Napoli for Marketplace.

    Used with permission.

    @ Copyright 2006 "Marketplace" American Public Radio September 20, 2006, evening edition.