Too Much Luggage for the System?

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.

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