Snowe: Security at BIA ‘exceptional’

BANGOR – Security procedures at Bangor International Airport received “exceptional” marks from U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe during a tour of the facility Monday morning.

A member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation, Snowe helped craft the aviation security legislation enacted after the 2001 terrorist attacks. On Monday, she discussed with airport officials the process of having luggage hand-checked by Transportation Security Administration personnel and screened by one of six electronic trace detection machines in the domestic terminal.

The benefit of increased security was evident with passengers at BIA, Snowe said.

“It reinforces people’s confidence in the aviation industry,” she said. “[Passengers] seem to have responded very well.”

Snowe commended airport officials for providing “maximum efficiency and maximum security.” Recent studies of the airport show that passengers wait an average of six minutes to have their bags screened, which is well below the TSA goal of 14 minutes, according to John Booth, TSA federal security director for five of the state’s airports.

Added convenience could come through a proposed plan to move the screening devices behind the ticket counters and out of the terminal’s lobby, according to airport director Rebecca Hupp.

“I think what we want to do is make this process as seamless as possible,” Snowe said.

A supporter of the law that allows pilots to have guns in the cockpit with adequate training, Snowe recently helped draft legislation to further bolster air security by ensuring all air cargo is screened. According to the proposed legislation, cargo would be inspected or made secure by requiring all cargo carriers to develop security plans subject to approval by the TSA. The bill is a chance to fill what Snowe calls a “major loophole.”

“Right now on planes you have cargo that’s not being screened, and that’s undercutting our ability to provide maximum security,” Snowe said.

Snowe said the screening of cargo probably was not included in the original aviation security legislation because of the added dimension of complexity – indicating that the task could require more personnel and screening devices. “It’s going to have to be done,” Snowe said. “There’s no question about it.”