More than a month after a Delta Airlines employee was arrested for his role in a gun smuggling operation, U.S. Rep. John Katko led a hearing — his first as chairman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security — examining internal security at airports nationwide.
The focus of the hearing was on access controls at airports and specifically, what security procedures are in place, if any, to ensure employees don’t pose an internal threat to the airport and airliners.
Katko, R-Camillus, asked Gary Perdue, deputy assistant director of the FBI’s counterterrorism division, if the recent security issues were a concern for the FBI.
“It’s a big deal for us,” Perdue said. “And I think one of the things we continue to do is work with (the Transportation Security Administration) and to collaborate and to come up with other programs that we think that we can help each other with the security matters.”
Concerns about what security measures are in place for airline and airport employees were raised after the arrests that were made in the gun smuggling operation.
The scheme involved a former Delta Airlines employee who allegedly transported guns on several flights between Atlanta and New York City. According to authorities, the former employee, Mark Quentin Henry, would pass the guns off to Eugene Harvey, a Delta employee at the Atlanta airport. Harvey would then use his clearance to gain access to get the bags of guns into secure parts of the airport.
Once he gained access to the airport, Harvey would hand the bags of guns off to Henry, who boarded flights with the guns and transported them to New York City.
Katko, in his opening statement at Tuesday’s hearings, cited other examples of incidents at airports. All of the examples he mentioned involved the Atlanta airport.
“It raises concern that all of the most recent breaches occurred at Atlanta, one of the world’s largest and busiest airports,” he said. “Having said that, these incidents are just some of the latest examples of breaches at our nation’s airports. These problems are not unique to just one airport. Every case presents unique challenges and opportunities for TSA, airports, airlines and other partners to strengthen security protocols.”
While there is agreement that these security breaches are a major issue, there doesn’t appear to be an easy solution.
The Miami airport screens all its employees on a daily basis. But that comes at a great cost to the airport.
According to acting TSA Deputy Administrator Mark Hatfield, it costs the Miami airport $3 million to physically screen all of its employees.
Hatfield cited a Government Accountability Office report released in 2008 that found it would cost between $5.7 billion and $14.9 billion in the first year to screen all employees at U.S. commercial airports.
In the aftermath of the gun smuggling scheme, Hatfield said TSA is working with airports, law enforcement officials and others to draw up plans for improving security.
“TSA has increased operations to focus on screening airport employees at employee entrances and direct access points, such as turnstiles, secure area doors and elevators and vehicle dates,” he said. “Air carriers at (Atlanta airport) have also implemented additional security measures to address the issue.”
Katko said he hopes the “glaring vulnerability” that was exposed in the gun smuggling operation and other incidents will be addressed. With terrorists adapting to security procedures, he said, it requires an “agile and resourceful” approach.
“TSA spends billions of dollars every year to ensure every passenger is screened before boarding a commercial flight. That’s an important responsibility,” he said. “However, we must ask ourselves: What good is all of this screening at the front door if we are not paying enough attention to the back door? The answer is common sense.”