Airport screeners perform ‘poorly’

Airport screeners employed by both the federal government and private companies perform poorly despite a multibillion-dollar revamping of aviation security after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Homeland Security inspector general told a congressional panel yesterday.

The private and public screeners “performed about the same, which is to say, equally poorly,” Homeland Security Inspector General Clark Kent Ervin testified to the House Transportation and Infrastructure aviation subcommittee.

More than 100 airports, including the three major ones in the Washington area, are considering switching to private screeners this fall.

Subcommittee Chairman John L. Mica, Florida Republican, said the problems are bad enough that he plans an emergency meeting with Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge in the next 10 days to figure out a way to improve airport security.

“We have a system that doesn’t work,” Mr. Mica said.

He threatened to subpoena Mr. Ridge and other Homeland Security officials if they do not respond to his request for a meeting.

“This is a very serious situation, and its needs our attention,” Mr. Mica said.

The aviation subcommittee was examining how well federal screeners perform compared with screeners for private companies.

The 2001 Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which established the federal screener work force, gives airports the option of replacing them with private companies beginning Nov. 19 if they can demonstrate security would not diminish.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been testing use of private screeners at five airports: in San Francisco; Kansas City, Mo.; Rochester, N.Y.; Jackson Hole, Wyo.; and Tupelo, Miss.

Reports from the General Accounting Office, the Homeland Security Department inspector general and a private consulting firm also accused the TSA of being too bureaucratic and unresponsive.

All three investigative reports said their conclusions were based on limited information because the TSA did not adequately monitor the performance of screeners.

“Without those performance standards, we aren’t going to be able to evaluate effectively,” said Rep. James L. Oberstar, Minnesota Democrat.

Generally, investigators relied on tests in which TSA internal affairs agents tried to sneak “threat objects,” such as fake explosives or guns, through airport checkpoints.

“Overall, these tests have shown weaknesses in both private and federal screeners’ ability to detect threat objects,” said the report from the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress.

Mr. Ervin, the Homeland Security inspector general, said the TSA would not allow private screening companies enough flexibility to adapt procedures to different airports.

As a result, the screening firms “could not effectively and immediately address problems with high attrition levels, understaffing, excessive overtime, and employee morale issues,” Mr. Ervin said.

The witnesses, including TSA acting Administrator David M. Stone, gave few details of lapses, saying it is classified information. TSA officials say they are concerned that disclosing the lapses could alert terrorists how to exploit aviation security.

Mr. Stone said some problems would be reduced by rearranging the number of screeners at airports.

“We have some airports with too many screeners and others with too few,” Mr. Stone said. The TSA uses 45,000 screeners at 429 commercial airports nationwide.

The committee’s ranking Democrat said the reports showed passenger screening is no better than it was 17 years ago.

“The inadequacies and loopholes in the system are phenomenal,” said Rep. Peter A. DeFazio of Oregon.

He said better technology could reduce security lapses by screeners, particularly the risk of terrorists carrying explosives onto commercial aircraft.

“Screeners do not have the tools they need,” Mr. DeFazio said.

Private screeners outperformed federal screeners only at Kansas City International Airport, according to the report from the consulting firm BearingPoint Inc. In San Francisco, federal and private screeners performed about the same. Performance data at the other airports was too sketchy to find any difference between the two groups.

Airport managers have been expressing frustration over growing lines at security checkpoints. As passenger traffic returns to pre-September 11 levels, the TSA has not increased its staff of screeners.

Airport officials at all three major airports in the Washington area say they are undecided on switching to private screeners. The TSA is scheduled to announce guidelines for use of private security firms as soon as next month.

“We would need to see what the program requirements look like in order to make a decision,” said Tara Hamilton, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority, which manages Ronald Reagan Washington National and Washington Dulles International airports. “There’s a lot that needs to be explained to airports about how the program works.”