The US Department of Transportation expected airlines to meet the Congressionally mandated 18 January deadline for screening of all checked baggage, but only by using bag matching as a method of screening.
Congress expressed disappointment that the interim programme falls short of the new law requiring all checked baggage to be inspected by explosive detection equipment. Transportation secretary Norman Mineta says the airlines met the deadline requiring 100% of checked baggage to be inspected by any means necessary. The DoT will not disclose what percentage of baggage will be screened using bag matching and other methods, such as sniffer dogs.
Airlines had complained that the 60-day deadline for inspection of checked baggage could not be met because of the number of explosive detection systems (EDS) that had to be installed and because operators would have to be trained.
"Working with airlines, we have taken the necessary action to meet [the 18 January] requirement, using the full menu of options provided for in the law," says Mineta. "Every available EDS machine will be used to its maximum capacity. Where we do not have EDS resources in place, we will use other options. On origin-ating flights, baggage will be matched to its passenger."
Congress is concerned that bags will be matched with passengers only when they board their first flight. "If a passenger connects to another flight, their bags can be placed on the connecting flight without any check of whether the passenger has boarded the flight. The DoT must remedy this deficiency," says Senate transportation committee member James Oberstar.
A senior Bush administration official says: "There will be airports where [the new screening requirement] works better than other places. But every bag at the point of origin will have at least one layer of security."
Source: Flight International
