Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is one of 15 airports in the United States whose security procedures are being studied by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Transportation Security Administration.
The new federal agency, created by Congress after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, said it will use its findings to improve security at all of the nation's 429 airports with commercial service.
With the help of consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Transportation Security Administration over the next six weeks will trace the movement of passengers and cargo through security systems and then determine possible changes for increased security and better service to travelers, said Hank Price, a federal Department of Transportation spokesman in Washington, D.C.
"While each airport is unique, we seek to achieve a system that emphasizes consistency, both in security and in the treatment of travelers," Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said in a press release. "These studies will provide an important tool to enhance airport security systems nationwide.'"
Morton Plumb, director of the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, said federal and PricewaterhouseCoopers officials began reviewing the airport Feb.5, starting with a review of the cargo operations of major carriers Northwest Airlines, Federal Express and United Parcel Service.
In addition to cargo operations, Plumb said separate teams will review passenger screening, luggage handling and the airport's grounds and facilities.
Teams will spend a few days reviewing each operation, Plumb said.
DOT's Price said the airport studies would not disrupt the movement of passengers and cargo and the work will be mostly unnoticeable to the traveling public.
"They won't even know we're there," Price said. "We're going to be invisible, for the most part."
Price emphasized that the airports are not being graded.
"We are there to observe, gain information and get data to apply at all airports," Price said.
Plumb said he didn't know for sure why Anchorage International was chosen to be studied, but he suspects, among other things, that it may be because of its location and the fact that its one of the busiest cargo airports in the United States.
"(The federal Department of Transportation) felt we would be a reasonable place to take a look at the security process," Plumb said. "It's a compliment to the airport, when you look at the company we're in."
DOT's Price said Anchorage International was chosen in part because of its location and large cargo operations.
In addition to the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, other airports in the study are: Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport; Baltimore-Washington International Airport; Boston Logan International Airport; Charlotte/Douglas International Airport; Chicago O'Hare International Airport; Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport; Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, Mich.; Louisville International Airport; Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport; Mobile Regional Airport; New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport; Orlando International Airport; San Francisco International Airport; and Spokane International Airport.
