By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
The TSA will begin more stringent screening of airport and airline workers following allegations that a Delta Air Lines baggage handler was smuggling guns, In Homeland Security reports.
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson also said the security changes are a reaction to another alleged incident in which a Federal Aviation Administration employee flew to New York with a gun in his carry-on luggage.
“Immediately following the incident” with the Delta baggage handler, “TSA increased the random and unpredictable screening of aviation workers at various airport access points to mitigate potential security vulnerabilities,” Johnson said in his announcement.
In Homeland Security wrote:
Johnson said he had asked the TSA’s Aviation Security Advisory Committee to review the incidents and recommend remedies. Acting on five of the recommendations that can be implemented quickly, Johnson said that airport and airline employees who are traveling as passengers would no longer be permitted to bypass the scrutiny faced by other passengers. Anyone who boards an airplane other than on-duty pilots and crew will be screened, he said.
Airports will also be required to reduce the number of access points to secure areas and to subject airport workers to random screening throughout each workday, he said, adding that the TSA may send teams in unannounced to do random worker screens. Johnson also said the TSA is working with the FBI to continuously track the criminal histories of all aviation workers.
