By Janae Willardson
Government funding will go to hiring more federal employees in Utah airports to help increase security and efficiency.
The Transportation Security Administration, which was created after Sept. 11, has received $3.85 billion from the Fiscal Year 2002 Supplemental Appropriations bill.
This money will be allocated to airports across America to improve safety measures in airport security.
“Prior to Sept. 11, passenger screeners were employees of private companies,” said David Steigman, spokesman for Transportation Security Administration.
After Sept. 11, the government made the decision to make passenger and baggage screeners federal employees, Steigman said.
“The TSA is in the process of hiring more passenger and baggage screeners that are federal employees in Utah airports,” he said.
The portion of the $3.85 billion that will go to Utah airports will be used to hire thousands of employees and be used to install new explosive trace detective devices in airports, which have already been installed in Salt Lake City International.
“The bottom line is to make the Salt Lake airport the most secure and most efficient airport in the country,” said Earl Morris, Federal Security Director for Salt Lake International Airport.
The five airports in Utah that will benefit from the new federal employee screeners include Cedar City Municipal, St. George Municipal, Vernal City, Moab Canyon Lands and Salt Lake City International.
Salt Lake City International will receive about 900 federally employed passenger and baggage screeners. The other four smaller airports will receive between 10 and 25 federal employees depending on the size of the airport.
Morris said federal employed baggage and passenger screeners are already in the Salt Lake airport and will be adding more.
The government money will go to reconfiguration and additional screeners to provide more lanes to increase screening efficiency.
“TSA”s overall goal is to reduce screening wait time of any passenger to 10 minutes,” Morris said.
He said custumers would see visible signs of TSA cooperating with airport administration to meet needs.
“We want both efficiency and security in the airport, but we will not compromise security for efficiency,” Morris said.
Salt Lake City International has been involved in 100 percent screening since December 2001, due to the Winter 2002 Olympics. It is one of four airports in the country operating on 100 percent screening, he said.
“The new security and efficiency measures the airport has taken does encourage me to fly more, especially because I don”t like the hassle of waiting in line,” said Leslie Lyman, 22, a senior from Tempe, Ariz., majoring in business management.
Lyman, who frequents the Salt Lake airport, said she is comforted by the security measures the airport has taken but is still a nervous flyer.
“Security and efficiency is a great goal. I hope it is attainable,” she said.
Morris said security and efficiency will be attainable through providing more lanes for security check-in and adding more employees and devices to increase security.
