Safer Skies: Baggage Screening and Beyond

ISBN-10: 0833031996
ISBN-13: 9780833031990
Pages: 7
Language: English
Published: 2002
Publisher: RAND
Authors: Bernard Rostker, Russell D. Shaver, Gary Kauvar

Description

The Aviation and Transportation Security Act mandates that by December 2002 100 percent of checked baggage at all U.S. airports be screened for explosives before being put on an aircraft. Will it be possible to meet this ambitious schedule? RAND assessed the feasibility of using explosive detection system machines for the job and whether less-expensive explosive trace detection machines could shoulder a significant portion of the load. After studying operations at Dulles International Airport and Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, the authors concluded that a bottom-up approach on an airport-by-airport basis was preferable to the top-down approach originally mandated by the FAA. They identified six problem areas and propose a number of improvements that, while not meeting the 2002 deadline, will go a long way toward increasing airport security.