TSA meets federal screening deadline in Southeast Alaska

The Transportation Security Administration has hired and trained more than 100 federal passenger screeners for Southeast Alaska's airports, meeting today's federal deadline, the agency's regional security director said Monday.

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The agency also will meet a Dec. 31 deadline to screen checked bags for explosives in Southeast Alaska, federal waiver or not, said David Mitchell, TSA's top regional official.

"I arrived here the 19th of August with a cell phone, laptop and pager and in Southeast Alaska, with the help of the staff and the community, we have made all of our congressionally mandated rollout dates," he said at a press conference at the Juneau Airport.

From one deadline to the next, the TSA is working to meet a year-end requirement to screen checked bags for explosives, Mitchell said. While the U.S. Senate today is considering a homeland security bill that could provide an optional one-year extension, Mitchell said a waiver won't be needed in Southeast.

"I can tell you that requires a lot of work, a lot of discussion with airport management and the air traffic carrier, but when I look at Juneau and all of the spoke airports in Southeast Alaska, there's no reason why we have to ask for an extension," he said.

Explosive trace detection equipment should be installed in Juneau in mid- to late-December, Mitchell said. By next summer, Juneau should get a faster, more accurate X-ray machine called a CTX, he said.

Finding room for the equipment has been a challenge nationwide, and Mitchell said he's particularly proud that checked baggage in Juneau will be screened after ticketing. But the change has the Juneau Airport scrambling to accommodate the machines, people and dislocated office space.

Holiday travel tips

The Transportation Security Administration has set up a Web site with travel tips and information about what airline travelers can and cannot bring with them at www.TSATravelTips.us. Some suggestions to make holiday travel easier:

• Wrap packages after you arrive or ship packages in advance. Wrapped gifts in checked and carry-on baggage might need to be opened.

• Carry all film in carry-on bags because equipment used to screen checked bags will damage it.

• Avoid wearing clothing, accessories and shoes with metal that could set off alarms.

In Juneau, local screeners want to remind people that tools such as wrenches and pliers are not allowed in carry-on bags. Screeners also have confiscated Leatherman-type tools, filet knives and ammunition as people have boarded planes in recent weeks. Knitting needles, blunt-tip scissors and nail files without a cutting edge can be carried on board.

Juneau Airport Manager Allan Heese was one of 143 airport directors nationwide to ask Congress for a bag screening extension last week. And the Juneau Airport Board is exploring plans to add a $5 million extension to the airport terminal to solve space problems.

"I'm not as optimistic as Mr. Mitchell," Heese said Monday. "We re-evaluating our plans, we're waiting to see if the (deadline) extension is passed and what that allows us to do. Until that gets passed, we really don't have any choice."

Other challenges are being addressed. The TSA is implementing a "known shipper" program for fishing lodges in Southeast to avoid sending boxes of fresh-caught salmon through the new explosive-detection equipment, Mitchell said. In Sitka, as many as 150 to 175 fish boxes can be loaded onto one flight in the summer, he said.

"It saves a lot of time and avoids the hassle factor," he said. "We're looking at that primarily in Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan and we've talked to Alaska Airlines and they're very supportive. Lodges see it as a way to enhance their marketing opportunity."

As for staffing, the TSA has hired 59 passenger security screeners in Juneau, 11 in Petersburg, 17 in Sitka and 25 in Ketchikan, according to TSA stakeholder liaison Kathy Mathews. The agency still is assessing and hiring screeners in Wrangell, Yakutat and Gustavus, Mitchell said. Between 98 and 99 percent of the new screeners are from Southeast, he said.

"There are probably going to be another 30 folks (hired) between now and the first of the year," he said. "The next piece is law enforcement, we will be hiring law enforcement for all of our spoke airports as well. That number is yet to be determined - it could be another 30 to 60 depending on how we want to staff that."

The passenger screeners have been training in Juneau in recent weeks, which has added to the number of TSA employees at the airport's screening checkpoint. Eventually, the airport will have 13 to 15 screeners on a standard shift at the airport, according to Jim Owen, assistant federal security director for screening.

Joanna Markell can be reached at joannam@juneauempire.com.