N.O. airport prepares for tighter federal security rules

NOW THAT FEDERAL screeners are in place at Louis Armstrong International Airport, the airport is preparing for the next phase of Transportation Security Administration orders.

The airport will meet the Dec. 31 deadline for all 429 commercial U.S. airports to install high-tech machines to screen

The screening system comprises two machine types. Explosive Trace Detection machines, already in use at Armstrong on a limited basis for checked and carry-on luggage, involves an operator swabbing a bag to detect vapors with explosive compounds, says Steve Pressler, head of the aviation division at British engineering and construction company AMEC.

The other machine -- the Explosive Detection System -- X-rays the entire bag, Pressler says. Images are created in slices so bags can be thoroughly viewed automatically.

EDS machines are about the size of a minivan, weighing between 8,000 and 15,000 pounds. The automatic, computer-controlled machines can process as many as 300 bags per hour. Passengers check an average of nearly two bags per flight meaning EDAs can process 150 passengers per hour, Pressler says.

Machines must be installed either in the ticket lobby or in the baggage conveyor systems behind the ticket counter. Escorts will need to take passenger bags to lobby machines, have them screened, then return the bags to the conveyor system.

TSA has sent teams from Boeing Co. and Siemens Corp. to assess layout and physical infrastructure, passenger flow, peak travel hours and electrical capicity at all airports, says Eliot Brenner, Boeing's communications; director. Implementations will be designed for each airport. Designs have been approved at only 155 airports and just 50 have equipment ready for use by government screeners, Brenner says.

"We expect that number to climb very rapidly in the conning weeks," Brenner says.

A team has visited Armstrong airport every other week since July; the airport will combine the technologies and install the machines in ticket lobbies, Williams says.

As of now, Williams says the airport has ordered eight Explosive Trace Detection machines and 33 Explosive Detection Systems, but that number fluctuates with each discussion with Boeing.

"We're trying to design it so that the (EDS) machine leads right into the conveyor belt, which would eliminate additional handling,'' Williams says. The process will be as fast as existing baggage check-in. In some cases, passengers will simply check their bags with the airline. In a few locations, Williams says, passengers may have to wait for their bag to be screened, then wait to check in.

The machines require federal screeners., all of whom will be hired by the TSA. Following the last round of hiring, a large pool of applicants remains for TSA to select additional screeners from, Williams says. The airport will need 180 additional screeners to operate the new baggage machines, Williams says.

"We keep making judgments and analyses talking to airlines, how the peaks and valleys of traffic go, how we can best position the machines to be cross-utilized."

Williams says. "And until we actually get up and running with our customers and mix of baggage, we won't really know for sure."

TSA will staff machme screeners and cover the cost of the machines, but Armstrong's aviation board must finance any modifications with its $5 million budget, Williams says. Costs of operating the airport are dictated by the amount of services, including parking and concessions, airport customers use.

The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks caused the aviation board to budget $4 million in 2002 for added security expenditures, Williams says. Another $4 million was lost through decreased passenger traffic.

Modifications will include relocating Continental Airlines's ticket counter as well as terminal gates from the east end to the west end. Continental's ticket counter is opposite Southwest's, and the two carriers share terminal B - the only concourse large enough to accommodate Southwest, the airport's largest carrier.

Continental will share terminal D with Delta Airlines in gate space not being used now, Williams says.

Once die airport has its machines, they can be installed within a week in the lobbies. For airports using the baggage conveyor, it could take three to 15 months, depending on the airport, Pressler says. It took the United Kingdom six years to complete a similar comprehensive system.