TSA Fact Sheet

MAA Communications
410-859-7027

TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION (TSA)
AT BALTIMORE/WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (BWI)

Aviation Transportation Security Act

On November 19, 2001, President Bush signed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act making airport security a direct Federal responsibility. One requirement of the Transportation Security Act is to establish qualification standards for screeners to be employed by the Federal Government.

(Statement by Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta, November 2001)
“We have made funds available to the aviation industry to fortify cockpits. More federal air marshals ride our planes – and more fighter jets patrol our skies. In uniform and in plain clothes, brave men and women watch over us all.

“For the first time, airport safety will become a direct federal responsibility ... New federal agents will be hired to inspect passengers and screen baggage. These officers will not be permitted to strike – they can be quickly removed if they neglect their work, and they must be U.S. citizens.

“At the same time, this agreement gives the federal government the flexibility to do whatever it takes to improve on what is a safe system in order to ensure a safe transition to this new security system.”

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

The TSA, chartered by Congress last year, has taken over transportation security nationwide, beginning with aviation security. Secretary Mineta announced the formation of a senior advisor program to bring private sector best practices to the TSA. Under this program, executives from some of the nation’s leading firms will be loaned to the TSA to help establish the new agency. The initial executives in the Senior Advisor Program are: Chris Billings, General Manager, Airport Guest Services; Walt Disney World Co., Orlando, Fla.; Lisa Glatch, Sr. Vice President, Human Resources and Administration, Fluor Corporation, Aliso Viejo, Calif.; Tom Kennedy, Ph.D., Vice President, Quality, Solectron Corporation, Milpitas, Calif.; Randal Null, Program Director, Mergers & Acquisition, Intel Corp., Santa Clara, Calif.; Ben T. Smith, Vice President, A.T. Kearney, Inc., Santa Clara, Calif.

The TSA was designed to be a flat, distributed organization, with a relatively small Washington headquarters and most of the more than 40,000-member agency based at airports throughout the nation. At each airport, the TSA’s Federal Security Director will lead federal security operations, responsible for hiring and training federal security employees, directing all federal law enforcement activity throughout the airport in coordination with local authorities. The initial phase of federal security director recruitment will fill positions at the nation’s 81 largest airports. Recruitment for positions at the balance of the nation’s 429 commercial airports will proceed in a parallel process managed by the department.

Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI)

WHAT DID TSA DO AT BWI?

On January 16, 2002, Secretary Mineta announced that, beginning immediately, TSA would work with the State of Maryland to use BWI Airport as a site to study airport security operations, test TSA deployment techniques and technology, and to train senior managers for the TSA. The TSA used its findings to develop new procedures for all commercial airports. That includes working with the airline and security personnel at Pier C and at the Explosive Detection System (EDS) machines to learn the passenger and baggage screening processes.

OTHER AIRPORTS?

On February 1, 2002 - the TSA announced it would study security at 15 airports during the next six weeks. The Airports are located in Anchorage, Alaska; Atlanta; Baltimore, MD; Boston, MA; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago O'Hare, IL; Dallas, TX; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Louisville, Ky.; Minneapolis; Mobile, Ala.; New York John F. Kennedy; Orlando, Fla.; San Francisco, CA; and Spokane, WA.

BWI, however, remains the primary “test” site for the field-testing of potential new security measures, which may be eventually implemented at all commercial airports.

WHEN DID TSA ARRIVE AT BWI?

TSA began visiting the Airport and meeting with State and Federal officials and the airlines at BWI following the Jan. 16 announcement.

• On Feb. 1, the TSA began observing operations at BWI's Concourse C for about a week, then spent two weeks redesigning the security processes at the concourse and three weeks training workers and implementing changes.
  
  
• The TSA used its findings to develop new procedures that will be applied to the federalization processes at all 429 commercial airports.
  
  

WHY BWI?

Secretary Mineta said he had been to BWI numerous times since September 11th, just to watch and learn. FAA has a terrific, dedicated team there, led by the Airport’s Federal Security Manager Amy Becke, who Mineta said “has already taught me a lot.” During the first week of January, Secretary Mineta spoke to Governor Glendening, who pledged his full support of making BWI a model. The airlines at BWI have similarly stepped up to help.

Milestones

• January 16, 2002 - BWI named the first airport where airline security would be studied.
  
  
• January 18, 2002 - Nationwide, the airlines met the first congressionally mandated deadline for 100-percent baggage screening using four means: matching checked luggage with passengers, using technology to scan checked luggage for explosives, hand-searching bags and K-9 searches.
  
  
• February 17, 2002 - The federal government assumed screening contracts from the airlines. Outside consultants and federal government employees looked at how passengers and cargo move through security at the airports, then recommended changes to make the procedures of both more effective and more convenient.
  
  
• April 30, 2002 – The first deployment of federal security screeners began screening passengers and carry-on luggage at security checkpoints at Piers A and B.
  
  
• May 14, 2002 – Federal security screeners rolled out to the security checkpoints at Piers C, D and the International Pier. BWI is fully “federalized.”
  
  
• November 19, 2002 – Federal security screeners were in place at all of the nation’s commercial airports.
  
  
• January 1, 2003 - All “checked” luggage must be screened for explosives.