The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) unveiled its ‘Pledge to Travelers,’
a statement of rights and expectations for all persons who go through the screening process at America’s airports. The Pledge is TSA’s latest demonstration of the agency’s ongoing commitment to customer service in the fulfillment of its security mandate. “TSA’s mission is to provide world class security with world class customer
service,” said Rear Admiral David M. Stone, USN (Ret.), Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security for TSA. “Security and Customer Service are at the core of all screener duties. This pledge reflects our continued commitment to perform each day in a manner that demonstrates our understanding that we are servants of the American people.” The Pledge to Travelers consists of seven points:
1. We pledge to do everything we can to ensure that your flight is secure.
2. We pledge to treat you with courtesy, dignity, and respect during the screening process.
3. We pledge that if additional screening is required, we will communicate and explain each step of the additional screening process.
4. We pledge to honor your request for a private screening at any time during the screening process.
5. We pledge that if additional screening of your person is required, it will be provided by a screener of the same gender.
6. We pledge to accept all feedback and to consider your input as a vital part of our effort to continually enhance the screening experience.
7. We pledge to respond to your comments in a timely manner. The Pledge is a tangible reminder of TSA’s promise to the traveling public to provide top-notch security and customer service in the performance of all duties. The TSA welcomes all customer comments at: (866) 289-9673 or by
E-mail: tsa-contactcenter@dhs.gov.

two augments this effort by adding a FBI fingerprint-based criminal history records check and immigration status check. The third and final phase of implementation begins May 31, 2005 when drivers, who currently hold HMEs and wish to renew or transfer the HME, must undergo the fingerprint-based background check. Under the USA PATRIOT Act, a state cannot issue, renew or transfer an HME unless the driver successfully completes TSA’s security threat assessment. TSA developed its program to meet the requirements of the Act and to protect against the threat posed by terrorists transporting hazardous materials in commerce. TSA has selected a vendor to assist in the collection of applicant fingerprints and information for states that have elected to use a TSA agent for this purpose. Seventeen states have elected to complete these tasks using state resources. In either case, the drivers’ fingerprints and biographical information will be forwarded to TSA for vetting. For readers of the Airport Press in the Trucking or allied industries, for more information, please visit www.hazprints. com or call 1-877-429-7746.

James Fuller, Chief of Staff for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA); Paul Malandrino TSA’s Federal Security Director at the Baltimore/ Washington International Airport (BWI) and James F. Ports, Jr., Deputy Secretary, Maryland Department of Transportation held a press conference in late February to announce the installation of a new explosive detection trace portal at BWI. The deployment of a trace portal at BWI is part of a pilot program intended to test the use of the machines in different environments across the country. At the conclusion of the pilot, TSA will evaluate the results and decide whether to deploy the machines nationwide.

Did you ever wonder what happens to the thousands of nail clippers, scissors, screwdrivers and other banned items collected every day by airport security screeners? At some airports, they are destroyed. But in many states, if you’re forced to surrender a pocket knife or something else at a security checkpoint, your property is likely going to be disposed of in a more lucrative manner. In a little known but burgeoning economy, the heightened security at the nation’s airports following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has sparked a new market in which tons of scissors, knives, tools and other items d e e m e d unsafe for airline travel are resold through online auctions. Through September, California had utilized eBay to unload 13,000 pocket knives, 1,400 corkscrews and about 1,200 pounds of hammers, saws, chisels and other tools collected by federal screeners at airports in Los Angeles, Sacramento, Oakland, Fresno, San Jose and Orange County. South Carolina, Illinois, Arkansas, Washington and Oregon are a few of the other states that confirmed last week their surplus agencies also take part in this bit of recycling, which sometimes sees people using the Internet to buy back an item they were relieved of before boarding a jetliner. Some states even ask the federal government for stuff collected at airports outside their border. Last month, Arkansas asked if they could have the more than 10,000 items collected monthly at McCarran, and the request was granted. A private government contractor shipped it last week. It’s unclear if McCarran’s items will go there in the future. Like any profitable and rapidly growing sector of the American economy, this one has attracted middlemen. A few enterprising people purchase items surrendered at airports from the state governments on eBay in large lots and then turn around and sell them one at a time for substantial profits.

specifically. Stone said the proposed fee increase of up to USD$3 per one-way ticket, vehemently opposed by airlines, lifts more of the TSA funding burden off taxpayers and places it on users who benefit from air travel. Lawmakers also questioned the comparatively small sums being spent for surface and maritime initiatives. For instance, rail security would be cut by a third to USD$8 million in the 2006 budget.

The Port Authority is launching a Web site where images of approximately 8,000 personal photos recovered from the World Trade Center site after September 11, 2001, can be reviewed as part of a process to determine the owners of the photos. Beginning on January 18, family members of the deceased victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center will be able to visit the limited-access Web site, which will be password protected. Family members will receive a letter from the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. within the next two weeks providing instructions on how to access the Web site. Employees of former World Trade Center tenants will be provided similar access later this year. The Web site will contain images of the restored photos that were collected after September 11, 2001, from the World Trade Center site. After being recovered, the photos were restored by Kodak employees. Each image – most are personal photographs that people had in their offices – has an identifying number on it.