BWI, Dulles Consider Privatizing Airport Screeners

Baltimore-Washington International and Washington Dulles International airports are considering replacing federal security screeners with private contractors.

The Transportation Security Administration, which took over screening after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, says airports now can apply for permission to make such transitions. TSA is planning a switch for approved airports by the spring or summer of next year.

Several airports say using private contractors may be a better system, as they might be able to hire more employees quickly when needed. Contractors also might provide more staffing flexibility.

This summer, passengers at Dulles in northern Virginia sometimes waited more than an hour to pass through security, as air traffic surged there with the launch of Independence Air.

``The issue of the long lines _ that's probably where we're most concerned about customer service issues,'' said Tara Hamilton, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.

She said the concerns mostly pertained to Dulles and not Reagan National Airport, near the nation's capital, which the authority also operates. ``We've not made a decision at this point.''

Like those at many major airports, BWI officials say they want to learn more about liability if there is another terrorist attack before making any changes.

``Some pretty significant questions need to be answered,'' BWI spokesman Jonathan Dean said.

In its announcement, TSA suggested that airports would be protected by federal laws that limit tort liability in case of terrorist attack. But it didn't specify the exact terms, and airport officials are concerned about what exactly would be covered, said James McNeil, chief executive of McNeil Technologies Inc., a security firm that employs screeners at the Rochester, N.Y., airport.

``If they can get some indemnification, that will play a huge role'' in decision making, he said.

The process to apply for the transition is complex, and the TSA stipulates the private firms must abide by the same security standards as TSA. Federal supervisors already stationed at airports would oversee the contractors.

``We feel, eventually, most airports will opt out'' of the federal program, said Gerald L. Berry, president of Covenant Aviation Security LLC, which employs screeners at San Francisco International Airport through a TSA pilot program. ``But they're not in a hurry.''

TSA screeners said they're concerned about the change, even though TSA has said security companies must give comparable pay and benefits to their workers and give priority in hiring to TSA screeners.

``We feel protected as federal screeners because we don't feel we can be pressured by airlines or airports,'' Ron Moore, a screener at BWI and president of Local 1, the American Federation of Government Employees union. ``The passengers seem to respond better to us because we're federal. It would be a shame to start to break that.''